


Your Call

by AMidnightDreary



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Acceptance, Alpha Tony Stark, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Anal Fingering, Angst with a Happy Ending, Awesome Jarvis (Iron Man movies), BAMF Loki (Marvel), Blow Jobs, Bruce Banner Is a Good Bro, Canon-Typical Violence, Communication Is Difficult, Cuddling & Snuggling, Deepthroating, Domestic, Explicit Consent, Falling In Love, Hand Jobs, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Insecure Loki (Marvel), Jealous Loki (Marvel), Jealous Tony Stark, Jotunn Loki (Marvel), Loki (Marvel) Gets a Hug, Loki (Marvel) Needs a Hug, Love Confessions, M/M, Masturbation, Mating Bites, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Morning Sex, Oblivious Tony Stark, Omega Loki (Marvel), Overstimulation, Pack Dynamics, Panic Attacks, Pining, Possessive Behavior, Protective Tony Stark, Rutting, Scent Marking, Self-Lubrication, Sexual Harassment, Slightly Awkward Conversations, Smut, Snark, Threats of Violence, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Touch-Starved, bless Tony he's trying his best, consent is important
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-22
Updated: 2019-08-02
Packaged: 2019-08-05 23:25:18
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 86,469
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16377041
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AMidnightDreary/pseuds/AMidnightDreary
Summary: After his encounter with the Hulk it gets clear pretty quickly that Loki wasn't the one behind the invasion. He ends up in a cell, anyway, at least until Tony Stark decides - more or less voluntarily - to take the Omega in.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted to have a try at the whole A/B/O thing, and this is what came out of it. I have no real clue how that trope works, by the way, so I'm just making things up as I go. xD
> 
> I hope you like it! ^.^

Just for the record: Tony had no idea what he was doing.

That wasn't anything new, of course, but now his plan was especially wobbly. And not wobbly in the sense of “okay, I'll do that, but it probably won't work, so I might have to improvise”. No, more like “why the fuck am I even here?”.

The answer to that question: SHIELD. Oh, and Thor. And Tony's own curiosity, which would definitely be the death of him at some probably very early point in his life. And  _very early_  might just mean  _in about five minutes_ , because he was about to enter the cell of a very labile Norse God with a complete lack of patience and minor anger issues. The fact that said god had already thrown him out of a window once before wasn't really reassuring, either.

Tony could imagine that this encounter would be different than their last one, though. Because this time, he definitely had the upper hand. He wasn't entirely sure if he had the right to use that advantage – it had always seemed a bit unfair to him – but if it protected him from falling more than two hundred meters deep for a second time, well. He wasn't above using it, really.

Gladly, the god was in a cell without windows. So the chances of being thrown out of one were very low. Apart from that, it wasn't as bad as Tony had imagined. Austere, yes, but not deliberately cruel. Not more than necessary, anyway.

It was still a sorry sight.

Loki was curled up on the cot in one corner of the cell, facing the clinically white wall. The cot was definitely too small for the tall god, and his position couldn't possibly be comfortable. There was a toilet in another corner and a sink next to it, a chair in the middle of the room, and that was it.

Loki hadn't left this cell for three weeks, and Tony couldn't help but feel just the tiniest bit sorry for him. As far as he knew, the God of Mischief hadn't eaten and spent the most of this time just like Tony could see him now. Lying completely still, not reacting to anything, trying to shut the world out. Tony had no idea if it was working, but somehow he doubted it.

When he entered the cell, Loki didn't move. Tony stood there for a moment, staring at the god's back. He threw a glance at the mirror that covered one entire wall of the cell, knowing that Fury and Romanoff were watching his every step. Then, he pulled the chair a bit farther away from the cot, dropped the bag on the ground next to him, and sat down.

He could smell the fear. It wasn't as strong as he had expected, only a vague hint of the distress he had prepared himself for. Still strong enough to make him want to go to Loki and wrap him up in a blanket or something. He fought that urge and suppressed a sigh – this was going to take a while. His first impulse that didn't have anything to do with instincts was to make a quip of some sort, but he had the feeling that would only make things worse. And so he waited, eyes still fixed on Loki's lithe form.

Twenty minutes passed before Loki spoke.

“You smell different than the others.”

His voice was calm and controlled, but tired. There was a slight rasp to it, probably because he hadn't spoken in weeks.

“Better or worse?”, Tony asked, keeping his own tone light.

No answer. There was an audible inhale of breath, though. Not really a gasp, but close. Tony wasn't sure whether that was a good sign or not.

“Why do they smell different?”, Loki asked after another five minutes.

“They're taking suppressants, most of them. Makes their work easier.”

“Ah.” A pause. “And that woman?”

“You mean Romanoff?”

“Yes.”

The god's voice was bare of any emotion, but Tony could detect a hint of anger in his scent. Probably still sulky because Natasha had managed to manipulate him that one time.

Tony made sure that his eyes didn't flicker over to the mirror. “She's special.”

“I don't like it.”

“Yeah, it's weird”, Tony agreed, smirking. “You won't meet a lot of people like that.”

They lapsed into silence again. Loki still didn't turn around, and Tony began to doubt that he would.

“Why are you here?”

“To explain some things to you. And to make an offer.”

“Why did they send  _you_?”

Tony hesitated. “I'm sort of the safest bet”, he said eventually.

“Why?”

“It's a bit complicated”, Tony said, perfectly aware that he was hedging. He shifted a little on his chair. “But that's the complicated stuff I'm here to explain, I guess. So you can ask whatever you want. If you want to ask anything at all.”

“I just asked you something.”

“Yeah.”

“So?”

“Would you mind turning around for this? I mean, you don't have to, and your back's really nice to look at, but I bet your face would be nicer.”

Nothing, for a rather long while. Then, Loki stirred, and very slowly sat up. It looked as if it took him a great deal of strength to even move. Hell, Tony was surprised that he could move at all. Loki spent a few more minutes facing the wall, one hand grasping the thin sheet the cot was covered with. When he finally turned around, Tony almost regretted asking him to.

Loki looked awful. It reminded Tony of the footage he'd seen of the god's arrival on Earth, back at the beginning of the invasion. Loki was pale in a way that definitely wasn't normal or healthy, and his cheeks were far too hollow. The raven hair was a mess, and Tony didn't even want to know how long it hadn't been properly washed. The god's eyes were sunken in, the green strangely dimmed. Not blue, though. There wasn't even a hint of blue in them.

Loki wrinkled his nose as he slowly moved his long legs, setting his bare feet on the floor. He wore normal clothes, a black t-shirt and simple pants. Tony could see an inch of the shackle around his ankle; a device Thor had provided to keep Loki from using his magic. The god's toes were curling against the tiles, and the sight of them made Tony wonder if Loki was freezing.

Why hadn't he brought a blanket again?

“Alright?”, he asked. He knew Loki wouldn't like the concern in his voice, but Tony couldn't help it. Damn instincts.

Loki didn't answer, just stared back at him with a face that he kept carefully blank. His scent betrayed him, though. Tony probably wasn't the only one cursing his instincts right now, but at least he  _understood_ them.

“So”, he said, drawing the word out a little. “Uhm. Please note that I know this is a bit awkward. Completely not our fault, by the way. I think sex ed talks just have to be awkward, that's sort of how these things work.”

“I do not need a 'sex ed talk'”, Loki replied, his bored tone a heavy contrast to the sharp look in his eyes.

“No offense, but I think you do.”

Loki's face did something complicated that might have been a snarl. Or would have been, if he hadn't been as exhausted as he obviously was.

Which reminded Tony of the bag he had brought. He didn't have a blanket in there, sadly, but Loki would probably survive without one, anyway.

“I've brought some things”, Tony announced, picking the bag up from the ground. “Water and stuff. You really should drink and eat a bit, you know. Would you like something?”

Loki eyes flickered to the bag and back to Tony's eyes, and then over to the mirror. Ah. Of course he knew they were being watched, and by whom.

“I bought this stuff myself”, Tony said, putting on a small grin. “Didn't even let them take a look at it.”

Which translated directly to  _look, I've been hunting. And only for you._

Yes, fine. He was being manipulative. But only a little. And dammit, Loki needed to eat.

A few seconds passed, wariness radiating off Loki in waves, but then, he gave a tentative nod. Tony moved to stand up and get the bag over to him, but stilled as soon as Loki flinched.

“Don't”, the god grit out, his back pressed against the wall. Glassy green eyes fixed on Tony.

“Sorry”, Tony said, lifting his hands as he slowly sat down again. “I'll stay right here. Okay?”

Another careful nod. Tony made sure Loki could follow his every movement as he put the bag down again, making it slide over to the god by giving it a push. Loki waited until Tony had sat up straight again, and only then leaned down to take the bag. When he opened it with hesitant fingers and peered into it, Tony averted his eyes. He could still look into the mirror, though, and watched as Loki pulled out a bottle of water and one of the granola bars. He screwed up his nose at the bar, but after sipping a bit of water he opened it and took a bite. Tony relaxed a little. This was going better than expected.

“You can eat the stuff they give you, you know”, Tony said calmly, looking back at Loki when he saw the god's eyes focusing on him again. “They aren't trying to poison you or anything.”

Loki narrowed his eyes. “I do not accept food from my jailers”, he said, his voice a bit firmer now that he had drunken something.

“Okay”, Tony said. “Your call.”

He decided not to comment on the fact that he technically was one of Loki's jailers, too. Saying that would be kind of unfair. He couldn't even say if Loki was aware at all that he was practically breaking his own rules here just by talking to Tony. By accepting the things he gave him. By trusting him just the tiniest bit.

Well. Loki probably didn't even realize. Tony certainly hadn't, the first time he had been confronted with this shit.

He let Loki eat for a while. Hopefully the granola bars weren't too much for a stomach that hadn't eaten anything since who knows when. Making the god puke wasn't one of the things he wanted to achieve with this conversation.

“So”, he said once more, causing Loki to stop chewing and look at him again. “Anything you want to know?”

Loki swallowed slowly. “Why did they send you?”, he asked then, repeating his earlier question.

Tony sighed, rubbing his neck. His skin started to itch a little. “Do you know anything about our biology? Like, anything at all?”

“I have never cared much for humans.”

“Yeah, well. Sadly,  _your_  biology seems to match ours quite well, so you might like to understand what's going on with your body.”

Loki didn't reply, just stared at him. It was kind of impressive that he still managed to look down on Tony despite the state he was in. Inwardly, Tony returned to the first and most important question of the day – why the fuck was he even here?

“Look”, he tried again, trying to keep that soothing tone in his voice. Oh, yes, he was being manipulative again. Whatever. “Thor told me you aren't from Asgard. Apparently, your species is similar to us humans in certain aspects of our physiology. That's why you're reacting to us the way you do.”

“I figured as much”, Loki said coolly.

He had tensed, and the change in his scent told Tony that the other's species, whatever kind of alien he exactly was, wasn't a safe thing to talk about. So, he changed direction.

“Has this ever happened before?”

Loki shook his head, his lips pressed into a thin line. This was pretty much the confirmation of the theory Bruce had come up with. According to Thor, Loki had come of age a couple of centuries ago, a bit later than the Thunderer himself. If you really could confer how this usually worked for humans to how it worked for Loki, this was happening far too late. Who knew how many cycles Loki had simply... skipped? Suppressed? He didn't seem to have a real idea what was going on, so he probably hadn't done it intentionally.

“Okay”, Tony said slowly, thinking it over. “I'll ask again, then.  _Do_ you know anything about our biology? And 'our' as in, you know. Yours and mine.”

Loki's mouth twisted into something disdainful. “I know that you are practically animals.”

Tony huffed. “Yeah, sure. Some say we are, some say we're not. Dozens of very clever people have written dozens of very clever books about that, and somehow no one has come up with a clever answer yet.” Tony shrugged, throwing his hands up. Watched as Loki's gaze dropped from his eyes to his hands when they moved. “The thing is, Lokes, we have bodies. And these bodies work a certain way, and there's nothing we can do about that.”

He couldn't tell what Loki was thinking. He didn't exactly smell like he was amused, though. So Tony continued; because every time he had no idea what he was doing, rambling somehow seemed like the best choice.

“So yes, we might be animals, but then every species is. Even your oh so perfect Asgardians.” Loki snorted and averted his eyes, so Tony added, “No, really. You've seen Thor eat, right?”

For the split of a second, Tony thought he could see an amused look scurry over Loki's face. He'd probably just imagined it. It made Tony smile, anyway.

“I can explain everything to you, if you want me to”, he said. “And then we could talk about what happens next, 'cause you can't stay in this cozy little cell of yours forever.”

Loki stared at him for a quite long time. Tony waited patiently, letting the other think. A part of him hoped Loki would decline. Really, he would have nothing against just leaving and letting Loki be, but he sort of knew that wouldn't happen, anyway. It wasn't because of the promise he'd given Thor or the deal he'd made with SHIELD – no, something much simpler. Animalistic, as Loki would have said.

Because Loki needed information. No one had tried to explain things to him, not in detail, and he didn't have any access to internet or books or whatever godly beings used to get their answers when they had questions. And Loki  _had_  to have questions. Questions Tony could answer, which meant, quite simply, that Loki needed him.

So he would stay.

Damn instincts.

“I'm listening”, Loki said suddenly, somehow managing to look challenging and bored at the same time.

Tony sighed. And explained.

He had talked it through with Bruce before he'd left, so he was practically just repeating what his friend had said. He knew everything himself, of course, but Bruce had wanted him to approach this a bit more... Medically. And Tony could agree with that, so he stuck to the facts. The stuff he'd learned in school a million years ago. Loki listened; the look in his eyes attentive, but otherwise unreadable. He didn't ask any questions, just sat there and ate one granola bar after another. At some point, Tony could tell the god had found the book Tony had put at the bottom of the bag, because just for a moment, his control over his expression slipped.

Tony smirked to himself and winked at him, but didn't stop speaking.

He just explained the basics. Didn't probe into the details of the more psychological stuff, because really, all those discussions about where instincts ended and  _you_  began? That went a little too deep. He'd never enjoyed talking about stuff like that, and that wasn't changed by the fact that he had this conversation with  _Loki_  of all people.

Besides, and that was what made this whole situation so ridiculous – Tony had never given a shit about what anyone's sex was. Sure, he was always a bit careful around Omegas, since he had a thing for consent. But apart from that, he didn't really care. And everyone knew that. He had never planned on bonding with anyone, no matter how many people threw themselves at him. He didn't really care what Loki was, either. Now that he was here he couldn't help but feel sorry for the god, though, because this really had to be all kinds of shitty for him. And so Tony tried to nice, because he actually, really wanted to help. If he was honest, he'd wanted to help him as soon as he'd smelled the god for the first time (because, you guessed it, instincts) and he actually didn't trust Shield with this. They hadn't even managed to feed him properly.

When he was done, Loki still hadn't shown any kind of reaction. Tony waited for him to say something, anything, but it took a whole ten minutes until Loki opened his mouth.

“You still haven't answered my question.”

Tony sighed and leaned back in his chair, his arms crossed. “You won't like it.”

“I do not like anything about this”, Loki informed him.

Fair enough. Still, Tony hesitated, but since he knew that he couldn't get around this, anyway, he eventually gave in. “I'm an Alpha. That's why I smell different than the others.” He shrugged. “Fury, too, actually, but as I said, suppressants. And Steve's not an Alpha by birth, so he doesn't really count. They wanted me to do this 'cause Omegas tend to react better to Alphas. Because, you know, instincts.”

“Instincts”, Loki repeated, a derogatory tone sneaking into his voice.

“I told you you wouldn't like it.”

“And you really thought that would work?”

Tony arched a brow, nodding at the packages of the granola bars. “Well, it sort of did.”

Loki's eyes flickered down to the bag, and his expression darkened. He smelled like anger, now.

“Look, I know this isn't really fair”, Tony said before things could escalate. “And you don't have to believe a word I say, of course. But I'm here to help. We know you weren't the one behind the whole invasion thing.”

Loki's eyes immediately snapped back to Tony, and the look in them was scorching. “It was my plan. I wanted it.”

“You wanted it to fail”, Tony corrected with a smirk, holding the other's gaze.

Loki didn't avert his eyes even after a minute of Tony staring him down, which was sort of unusual. And impressive, maybe. “And what, pray tell, gives you that idea?”, he asked then, and it could have sounded teasing, maybe, but it only sounded tired.

“Your hormones only kicked in after our green friend mistook you for a rag doll”, Tony said, lifting his shoulders. “Before that, you smelled like nothing. Well, like Thor, who smells like he's male, and nothing else. Seems you had your very own suppressant in that creepy scepter of yours.” He indicated at Loki's face with a nod. “Your eyes are different, too. Less blue. Suits you better, by the way.”

Loki clenched his teeth, and now he did look away. Tony gave him time and waited more or less patiently for the god to speak up again. He did, after a while.

“And what happens now?”

“Your body is still adjusting”, Tony answered. “We can't say how much longer it'll need, I'm afraid. I know it sucks; we all went through that, in puberty. It takes only one or two weeks usually, though. We think it's longer for you because you skipped like, every cycle you should have had so far.”

Loki glanced at Tony, but didn't say anything. His brows were still drawn together, and frustration was pretty much dripping off of him by now.

“You're going to stay on Earth for a while”, Tony said after waiting a few minutes. “Thor spoke to his dad, and apparently that's what he decided.”

The amount of anger in Loki's scent increased, and really, Tony couldn't hold it against him. The Alldaddy knew that Loki wasn't guilty, at least not in the classical sense of the word, and he still didn't allow him to come home. Didn't even want to see or talk to him, in fact. Tony would be angry about that, too.

It seemed that Loki had decided to lapse into silence again, because after five minutes he still hadn't responded. And so Tony said, “you have two options now. You can either stay here – that's the bad choice of the two, by the way – or you can come with me. You'll get your own floor in my tower. Secured, of course, but no one's gonna bother you without your permission. You can get visitors and anything. And something else to eat than granola bars, and a shower and a real bed. All the luxury stuff.”

Loki thought about that for a long time. “For how long?”, he asked then.

“Open end, for now. We'll see how things are when you've recovered.”

The god looked away, a deep frown creasing his forehead. “Fine”, he said eventually.

Hurray.


	2. Chapter 2

Loki was in agony. His head was spinning, his mouth and throat were far too dry and every single part of his body was aching. He probably had a fever, too. He could barely move; his limbs were too weak and he was so _tired._ At the same time he was restless, barely able to keep his eyes closed for longer than a few seconds. He was in pain and vulnerable, and he was scared.

All in all, he felt better than he had in ages.

Tony Stark had come back this morning, and Loki had followed him out of the cell without protest. He had more stumbled than walked, and Stark had asked his permission before he'd touched him to support him. Now, the man's hand was on Loki's lower back as he led him out of the building to a car. If Loki had been strong enough, his own weakness would have angered him, but in the moment he actually didn't care. Stark maneuvered him to sit on the passenger seat of the car before he himself took place behind the wheel, and a minute later they were driving through the crowded streets of the city.

The lights gave him a headache.

“The drive isn't long.”

Loki glanced at Stark and nodded. He shifted, putting his arms around the bag on his lap. (He had a few of the strange bars and a bottle of water left, and the book.) His eyes flickered over the dashboard of Stark's car before he closed them, resting his head against the door.

He woke up just a few minutes later, blinking his burning eyes open until he saw Stark, who was leaning down to him. “Hey, you okay?” Loki didn't dignify that with an answer, and after a moment Stark sighed. “Come on, then.”

He wanted to take the bag from Loki, but he kept it firmly in his grab, and so Stark shrugged and stepped back. Loki got out of the car, admittedly without any grace, and let himself be led by Stark again. The bag pressed against his chest, he looked around out of the corner of his eye, unable to turn his head too much. The smells were driving him mad; his head was _swimming_ in them.

That had been the only good thing about that cell. Barely any scents.

They entered Stark's tower through what seemed to be a private entrance and shortly after stepped into an elevator. Loki refused to close his eyes, even though it would have helped against his dizziness, and tried to remain standing with one hand on the wall to support himself. Stark was right next to him, but didn't touch him anymore, and Loki was grateful for that.

The elevator didn't grant them much space, and it was impossible to ignore the man's scent. It was so heavy and intrusive that Loki could barely think of anything else, and he wasn't sure whether he hated or adored it.

“ _Welcome, Sir, Mr. Odinson._ ”

Loki flinched and looked at Stark, who immediately raised his hands in what was probably supposed to be a calming manner and said, “everything's fine, that's only JARVIS. He's an AI of mine. Runs the whole tower.”

Loki acknowledged that with a nod and threw a glance at the ceiling. “Do not call me that.”

“Huh?”

Loki grit his teeth. “I am no son of Odin.”

“ _Apologies, sir. What would you like me to call you instead?”_

“Just Loki will suffice.”

“ _Very well, Loki.”_

“Great”, Stark said, “I'm sure you'll be best buddies.”

“ _Of course, Sir_ ”, the invisible voice said, tone remarkably dry.

“He likes to sass me”, Stark informed Loki with a crooked grin.

Loki resisted the urge to roll his eyes and just looked away. Mere seconds later, the elevator stopped and opened, and Stark led the way to what was apparently Loki's accommodation. They passed a wall made of thick glass, the door sliding open as soon as Stark approached it. Loki followed him, trying to keep his posture straight even while he slurred his tired feet.

“So, you've got this as a living room with the kitchen over there”, Stark said, gesturing vaguely at their surroundings. “The bedroom's this way, the bathroom right next to it. Oh, and there's a room you can use as an office or something, with books and stuff. And a gym.” The man paused to look at Loki, but apparently didn't expect any kind of answer. “JARVIS has cameras in every room. If something's wrong, he's going to alert me immediately. So, uh, keep that in mind. You can ask him if you need anything; and if you want to talk to me, tell him and I'll be here as soon as I can. Okay?”

Loki nodded slowly, and turned his face towards the wide windows that allowed him a generous look over the city.

“There's breakfast in the kitchen”, Stark continued. “JARVIS can order you lunch and dinner, but if you want to cook something, you should find anything you need in the kitchen, too.”

Loki walked over to the sofa that looked much more comfortable than anything he'd set his eyes on since his fall. He put his bag down, wishing Stark would leave him alone already so that he could take care of himself. He wasn't particularly hungry, but a bath would do him good. And sleep, norns, a lot of that.

“Hey”, Stark said and waited for Loki to look at him. He didn't, and after a few seconds Stark sighed. “Look, this isn't meant to be a prison. But for the time being it's better if you stay in here, so JARVIS won't let you out. Apart from that you can pretty much do whatever you want in here. This is yours, okay? JARVIS will ask your permission before he lets anyone in. Come to speak of it, Thor wants to see you.”

Loki looked back at the human, eyes narrowing. “I have no desire to see him.”

“Okay”, Stark said, shrugging. “I'll tell him you need a few days rest or something. Which is true, by the way. You should try to sleep.”

“I am perfectly able to look after myself.”

“Sure thing, Green Eyes.” Stark smirked, hands in his pockets. “I'll leave you alone, then. I'm only a few floors above this one, so let me know if you need anything.”

“I will”, Loki said, forcing himself to smile. “Thank you.”

Stark snorted, amusement in his eyes. “No need. I'm not a fan of faked gratitude, anyway.”

Loki's smile faded away. He was so good at faking things, usually.

 

xxx

 

“ _Loki, Mr. Stark would like to see you._ ”

The bedroom reminded Loki of his cell; it smelled like nothing.

He was lying on the bed that was now his, curled up in the middle of it. He wasn't used to having so much room to move anymore. The mattress was soft and the blanket he'd crept under kept him warm. It reminded him of his bed in Asgard, and it was almost too comfortable.

“ _Loki?_ ”

It smelled like _nothing_.

Loki had always had a good nose. He'd always been more sensitive to scents than any other Aesir he knew, and since that had helped him more than once, he'd always prided himself on it. He'd quickly come to hate this ability of his when he had learned that it had to be a Jotun trait. But still, Loki was used to dealing with many scents at once – as a child, he would sit in Asgard's great hall, at one of those boring feasts, and pass time distinguishing every single scent from the others. That had almost been fun, once.

“ _Loki, if you do not want to see him, that is perfectly alright. But he worries, and I'm afraid that he will enter your floor without your permission if you don't react._ ”

Having a good nose on Midgard wasn't fun. After the green beast had broken his spine, his head had been clear for the first time in what seemed like _years._ But then the nausea had come, and the dizziness, and yes, the scents. His thoughts had become blurred again. He didn't recall how they had made him leave this tower, but he did remember what he'd smelled on the way to his cell. He'd been almost relieved when he had been able to lie down on that small cot, breathing in clean air that was free of any scents but his own.

(His own – fear and sickness. His nose had always been good, but never good enough that he could smell his own fear.)

“ _I will let Mr. Stark enter now._ ”

Loki had almost looked forward to lying down on a real bed this time, especially when he'd entered his floor and smelled, well – not much, thankfully. Stark's strong and annoying (oddly comforting) scent, yes, but that had disappeared quickly after the man had left. Loki had wanted to take a bath, but hadn't made it to that, in the end. He'd lacked the energy. And so he had simply went to the bedroom, leaving his week-old clothes on the floor before hiding under the covers. He'd wanted to sleep, norns, so _badly._ But the room smelled like nothing, which shouldn't bother him at all – hel, he had _looked forward to_ smelling nothing again -, but it did. It _did_ bother him, far too much; it made his nose itch and his head hurt even more. He didn't smell himself anymore, or maybe he'd managed to block it out; he'd spent three weeks in a room with only his scent, after all. And so the air was clean, yes, which should have been lovely, a damned relief, only that it wasn't, because something was missing.

Needless to say that he hadn't slept, not even for a few minutes. He was awake since he'd went to bed, his head filled with clouded and blurred thoughts and his whole body _still_ aching. He just wanted some rest, to stop thinking altogether for a while, but apparently even that was too much to ask for.

“Loki? You still in there somewhere? Come on, I know you're awake.”

Loki opened his eyes. He couldn't see anything else than the blanket he was hiding under, though, and he couldn't bring himself to lift it. He didn't have to, anyway, because after a moment it lifted itself. Loki squinted against the light – it seemed to be daytime; interesting – and was about to bury his face in the pillow again, but then he realized that there was actually someone crouching next to his bed.

“There you are”, Stark said, a (worried?) crease between his eyes. Loki blinked at him slowly, taking a first breath of was – oh, thank the norns, a _scent_. “God, you reek. 'Able to look after myself', my ass. You didn't even eat something, did you?”

Loki shook his head; just a small movement Stark could barely see, probably.

“Okay”, Stark said, pulling the blanket off Loki's body. “Definitely shouldn't have left you alone, then. Fuck, Thor's going to kill me. C'mon, Snow White, time to come to life again. Let's get you out of bed. Can you stand up?”

Loki groaned and closed his eyes again, willing Stark to simply leave again. But the man didn't leave; instead, he moved to help him sit up. Loki flinched away as soon as he felt Stark's hands on him, eyes opening to glare at the human, who had already lifted his hands again.

“Sorry”, he said quickly, “just want to help. No funny business, I promise.”

Loki frowned at the last sentence; his foggy brain struggling to decipher its meaning. But Stark didn't seem to be a threat, and he smelled good – _so good_ – and so Loki nodded, and allowed it when Stark reached out for him a second time. His hands felt warm on Loki's body, but not warm enough to stop the tremble that had started as soon as he'd lost the warmth of the blanket. He didn't know whether it was the cold or merely weakness that made him shake, but he couldn't seem to stop.

“God, you need to eat something. Like, seriously. And you didn't sleep at all, did you? God. Come on, we'll take you to the bathroom, okay?”

Loki nodded, even though he just wanted to sleep. He could barely keep his eyes open now. He let it happen when Stark got him to his feet, one arm slung around Loki's waist. Stark was grunting as they slowly moved towards the door of the en-suite bathroom, and the part of Loki's brain that still seemed to be working remembered that he should be far too heavy for the human. He tried to make himself lighter, or at least to do a few steps on his own, but he was so _tired._

Eventually, Stark made him sit on the lid of the toilet, leaving his hands on Loki's shoulders for a moment to make sure he would stay sitting. Loki was trembling all over now, but apart from that he felt almost... good. He didn't even try to stifle a yawn, watching as Stark poured a bath. Stark's gaze met his after a moment, and the worry faded from his eyes.

“You're gonna hate this so much when your head is clear again”, Stark said, a small laugh on his lips. He put one hand beneath the faucet, taking the temperature of the water. “Well, chances are you won't even remember, so let's just hope for that.”

The man talked too much, Loki decided, and so he closed his eyes and concentrated on Stark's scent. He'd never smelled anything like that, but it helped him relax.

“C'mon, Bambi, you need to wash up. You smell like weeks of shitty things.”

Loki sighed, but he didn't protest when Stark helped him get into the tub. He let out a relieved breath as he sank into the hot water. He didn't even remember the last time he'd taken a bath. Before his fall, certainly; in his chambers in Asgard. Before Thor's crowning ceremony, maybe, and then before _his..._ A servant had washed his hair then, too, just like Stark did now. Their hands had felt softer, though, and they surely hadn't talked as much as the human did. (“...never done this before, it's really weird. You're probably used to that, huh? Like, people washing your hair? Well, okay, by the looks of it you didn't wash it that often, anyway. Probably not by choice, either. That's not a good thing to say, is it? I'm sorry? God, this is so...”) Loki absentmindedly listened to the man's rambling with closed eyes, feeling almost content for the first time since Jotunheim.

Eventually, Stark made him get out of the tub again and brought him back to the bedroom. Loki sat on the bed as Stark rifled through the clothes in the wardrobe, and wrinkled his nose in disgust when the human offered him some midgardian clothes similar to those he'd worn in the cell. He put them on, anyway, and then moved to curl himself up in bed again, but Stark didn't let that happen.

“Oh no, no way. You spent two days lying around here, these sheets need changing, okay? We'll get you to the sofa.”

Loki glared at Stark, but eventually decided that the man was right. The bed _did_ reek. (Fear and sickness.) They made it to the living room like they had made it to the bathroom earlier, and this time Loki managed to not let all his weight rest on the human. His head was starting to become a little clearer, too; or at least he believed that the fog was beginning to disappear. That didn't keep him from curling himself up again as soon as Stark dropped him on the sofa. He'd already closed his eyes, but when he heard steps he opened them again to see what Stark was doing. The man was already coming back to the sofa from the direction of the kitchen, a bottle of water in his hands.

That was a good idea, actually.

Loki swallowed thickly and reached out for the bottle. Stark gave it to him with a chuckle and watched as Loki drowned the water with slow, languid sips. “More?”, he asked when the bottle was empty, taking it from Loki.

The god shook his head and laid down again, watching out of bleary eyes as Stark walked away again.

“Where are you going?”

“To the kitchen”, Stark answered without turning around, apparently not even surprised to hear Loki's rasped words. “To get you another bottle of water in case you need it. I'll be right back, don't worry.”

Loki hummed and closed his eyes again. It didn't take long until he heard Stark come back, and when he felt a little shift of weight at the other end of the sofa, Loki relaxed.

He fell asleep in a matter of seconds.

 

 


	3. Chapter 3

“He's been sleeping for almost twenty two hours now, that _can't_ be normal.”

“We've no idea how long it's been since he last slept. You don't believe he found any rest at SHIELD, do you?”

“No, but _twenty two_ _hours_. He hasn't eaten since ages, too, what if -”

“Make him eat when he wakes up”, Bruce interrupted him, tone soothing. “And make sure he drinks enough. Just let him sleep first, okay? He's been through a lot, he just needs rest.”

“And what do I do if he dies in his sleep or something?”, Tony asked, eyes flickering to Loki. The god was still lying on the sofa, curled up to a ball under the blanket Tony had thrown over him.

“As long as he's still breathing normally, everything is fine.”

“Okay, but what -”, Tony broke off, taking his phone into his other hand before he opened the fridge, “what do I do when he's awake? What do I even feed him? What do gods eat? And what if he can't keep anything down?”

“You fed him granola bars, Tony. If he was okay with them after weeks of eating nothing, he'll probably be okay with a lot of things.”

“Bruce, I'm serious.”

He heard his friend sigh, somewhere between amused and exasperated. “Make him soup or something. Nothing strongly spiced.”

“Okay, and how do I make soup?”

Silence, for a moment, then, “sometimes I really wonder how you made it into adulthood.”

“Without ever making soup”, Tony answered, still staring at the insides of the fridge. He'd made sure to have the kitchen filled with food before the god moved in, and had the supply topped up just this morning. “That's not something they teach at MIT.”

“ _There should be some canned soup in the lower right cabinet, Sir._ ”

“J, you're a savior”, Tony said, closing the fridge and opening the cabinet instead. “Ah! Bruce, I found soup!”

“Congratulations, Tony. Maybe you should stop shouting, though.”

Tony immediately looked over his shoulder, but Loki still seemed to be sleeping deeply. “He's still out cold”, he said and returned his attention to the soup. He took different cans out of the cabinet, wondering whether Loki would have any preference. “Bruce, do you think gods can have allergies?”

“God, you sound like a newly minted mum.”

“No, I...” Tony trailed off and put one of the soup cans on the counter with a thud. “Fuck. I really do.” He rubbed his eyes and closed the cabinet again. “I'm not – I'm not good at this. I've no idea what I'm doing.”

“What are you even worrying about?”, Bruce asked. “I think you're doing great.”

“I left him alone. Because he said he could look after himself. And then he went to bed. And _stayed there for two days._ ”

“Yes, but since then you're doing good”, Bruce insisted. “You're doing so much for him here. Without you he'd probably still be rotting in that cell.”

“Without _Thor_ ”, Tony corrected. “I didn't even want this.”

“Really?”, Bruce said, amused. “You're worrying a lot about him, though.”

No one was there to see it, but Tony still scowled, just for the sake of it. “You know I can't help that.”

“You're not just doing this because he's an Omega. That's not like you.”

“I know it's not. I'm not -” Tony stopped and forced himself to lower his voice, not wanting to wake Loki up. “I'm not good with Omegas, Bruce. You know that.”

“You're fairly good with me.”

“You don't count. You don't even smell like one.”

Another sigh. “As far as I know, you've never had a real relationship with an Omega. How do you even know you're not good with them?”

“Because I – I can't handle them. I shouldn't even try. And this is the best fucking example. Because now I've got him, and he's sick, and you see what happens? I freak out. I'm freaking out.”

“He's not _your_ Omega, Tony. Calm down.”

“I know he's not”, Tony said, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I don't want him to be. But I promised Thor to take care of him.”

“And you _are_ taking care of him.” There was a pause in which Tony didn't reply, and Bruce used it to add, “Tony, he's an Omega, not a child. He's not helpless; you've seen him during the invasion. You know what Thor said about him. He's a millennia old god, okay? That he also happens to be an Omega doesn't mean he needs an Alpha to coddle him.”

Tony blinked and let his hand sink again. “Bruce, am I pulling some stereotypical Alpha bullshit here?”

“What?”

“Oh god, I am. He probably doesn't even want me to be here. It's not okay to force myself on him like this, is it? What if -”

“ _Tony_ , for fuck's sake. Stop worrying. You're doing fine. And _speak_ to him, goddammit. Ask him if he's okay with you being there or if it's too much, and then you can do what he's most comfortable with. But one step after another, okay? Let him sleep first.”

Tony swallowed and nodded slowly. “Okay. Could you – I mean, could you come? Just to take a look at him?”

“I'm not that kind of doctor, Tony.”

“I know, but – we don't even know for sure what's going on with his body. What if he's seriously sick or something? You know much more about stuff like that than me.”

Bruce seemed to think about that for a moment, but eventually he conceded, sighing again. “Fine. I'll be back at the tower tomorrow, anyway. But ask him first, I don't think I'm someone he'd like to see right now.”

Tony let out a relieved breath. “Okay. Thanks, Brucey. You're the best.”

“You're insufferable.”

“I love you, too. How long will you be staying, anyway?”

“I... I don't know yet?”, Bruce answered, hesitating. “I mean, I've nowhere else to be from now on, really. I just... I shouldn't stay in New York, I guess, but...”

“You know that you're totally invited to stay, right?”, Tony said when Bruce didn't finish his sentence. “The tower's big enough, and we could even make it Hulk-proof. You'd be safe here. And more than welcome.”

“Thank you, Tony”, Bruce said. “I appreciate that. And maybe I... I think I'd like that.”

“Cool”, Tony said, grinning for the first time in two days. “No pressure, though. Your floor stays yours, anyway. You can -” He turned around and broke off, because he had completely forgotten what he'd wanted to say.

“Tony?”, Bruce asked after a moment.

“Uh. Sorry, I – I've got to...”

Bruce only needed the split of a second to understand. “Did he wake up?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Okay, try to not get yourself thrown out of a window this time, then.”

Tony hummed again, murmured something about calling back later, and hung up. He stared at Loki, who was by now sitting on the sofa and rubbing his eyes, apparently not entirely awake yet. He looked around, blinking drowsily and running fingers through his tousled hair, and Tony thought that he hadn't been this relieved in quite a while. Loki seemed to be okay. He hadn't died in his sleep or something. Tony also had a moment of _aaawww_ as he watched Loki wake up, accompanied by a little bit of warmth bubbling happily in his chest, and wasn't that the stupidest thing ever? _Not your Omega_ , he reminded himself sternly, trying his very best to fold his damned instincts together and stow them away in a box somewhere very deep and isolated.

It didn't take long until Loki spotted him. Tony could positively watch as the god sealed his face, making it blank, his body tensing up as if to prepare for an imminent threat. Tony lifted both his hands and his chin, the latter only the tiniest bit because _like hell_ was he baring his throat for _anyone._ But it seemed to help, just like he'd hoped it would. A little bit of tension left Loki's body, and his aloof expression changed into slight confusion.

“Hi”, Tony said after a moment, letting his hands slowly sink again. “You, uh, slept for a whole day. Are you okay? Feeling better?”

A few seconds passed, but then Loki nodded. He leaned over to take the bottle Tony had placed on the sofa table and proceeded to empty it in only a few long gulps. Tony had averted his eyes and now turned towards the fridge to take another bottle out of it.

“Do you mind if I come closer?”, he asked then, lifting the bottle so Loki could see it, and waited until the god gave a nod before he passed the kitchen island.

Loki's eyes stayed fixed on him while he came over to the sofa. He put the full bottle next to the empty one on the table, and after a moment of hesitation Loki reached out for it, too. Tony watched and noted that he indeed looked better. Yes, he was still far too pale, his cheeks still hollow, and what he could see of the god's body was horribly thin, but the look in his eyes was less alarming now. They weren't as glassy as they had been when Tony had gotten him out of the cell. And he smelled _much_ better, too – there was still some distress and he sure as hell didn't smell healthy, but he didn't reek of sickness anymore. And the note in his scent that proclaimed him an Omega had gotten stronger as well. After the Hulk had smashed him and even in the cell, it hadn't been much more than a vague hint. Enough to know that he _was_ an Omega when you smelled him from up close, and obviously also enough to evoke some reactions in an Alpha, but not nearly as strong as any other Omega Tony knew. It had probably been buried beneath all that stench of week-old illness, or maybe Loki's body was now beginning to adjust. For humans, it took a while until their scent solidified, too, which caused them one or two rather shitty weeks in puberty.

And Loki began to smell _far too good_ already. It made Tony swallow, and dread how the god would smell when his body was through with adjusting.

“Are you hungry?”, he asked when Loki had downed the second bottle, mostly to keep himself from panicking again.

Loki visibly swallowed, looking at Tony with barely hidden suspicion in his eyes. They flickered over to the kitchen nook, and after a moment he seemed to make a decision and looked back at Tony again. “Yes”, he said, voice raspy but calm, “very.”

“Great, then I – I mean, there's soup. I could heat it.”

Loki stared up at him. His nostrils flared a little, and Tony was a hundred percent sure that the god was checking out his scent. Which could either be very good or _very fucking bad_ , depending on how Loki would react to the smell of an Alpha all over his living room.

“That would be appreciated”, Loki said eventually, somehow managing to sound hesitant and arrogant at the same time.

Surprised, but entirely content with just accepting that, Tony nodded. “Good, it'll be -”

He stopped when Loki moved to stand up and immediately swayed. Tony's hands were on the god's shoulders at once, steadying him, and he refused to take them away until he was sure Loki wouldn't keel over, even when the taller man glared at him. After a moment Tony sighed and gave in, taking a step back again.

“Take it easy, okay?”

Loki shot him another piercing look and then made a few slow steps – not in direction of the kitchen, but of the corridor leading to his bedroom. He'd already went around the sofa when he hesitated, and then he reached over the backseat to grab the blanket and wrap it around himself. It made Tony arch his brows, but he didn't comment on that.

“Where are you going?”, he asked instead, making sure to keep his tone light and not too probing.

To his surprise, Loki answered without hesitation. “To the bathroom.”

“Oh. Do you need -”

“ _No._ ”

Tony stifled a laugh, but didn't bother hiding a grin, because Loki had already left the room and couldn't see it, anyway. “J, tell me if he passes out or something, yes?”

“ _Naturally, Sir. He seems to be better already. His hormones are starting to get more balanced._ ”

“Yeah”, Tony agreed, making his way to the kitchen again. “Seems being unconscious for a day did him good.”

“ _And perhaps the reassurance of an Alpha nearby, yes._ ”

“That is _so_ not what made him better.”

“ _If you say so, Sir.”_

“Don't make me mute you, JARVIS.”

The AI stayed silent, but Tony was sure he was smirking to himself in ones and zeroes somewhere. Tony shot a warning look at his favorite creation's nearest camera and opened one of the soup cans. It didn't take long until Loki appeared again, the blanket still draped over his shoulders. His bare feet slurred over the ground, and now that Tony saw him standing, he _really_ wanted to feed him. Needed to even, because really, how could he be so fucking thin and still have the strength to stand, let alone walk? God, Tony couldn't stand that. ( _Not_ your _Omega, Tony, get your shit together.)_

He cleared his throat and patted the counter. “Come, sit down.”

Loki shifted on his feet a little, but then he shuffled over to the kitchen and sat down on one of the bar stools, his movements slow and a bit sluggish. He looked around in the kitchen, taking in every detail including Tony, who was standing at the stove and stirring the soup.

Awkward silence ensued. It was broken by Loki eventually, which probably surprised both of them.

“Why are you doing this?”

Tony glanced at the god and noted that he had not the slightest idea how to answer that. He grinned. “I'm an extraordinarily helpful person.”

Loki blinked at him, unimpressed. The blanket slipped from his shoulders, and he shifted and pulled it up again. “Do you expect to get anything out of _helping_ me?”, he asked. His mouth twisted as he said the word; as if either needing or offering help was something despicable.

“No”, Tony answered truthfully.

“Thor did not promise you anything?”

Tony raised a brow, but apart from that he hid his surprise well. He hadn't expected the god to know that his brother had something to do with this. But it was probably obvious, since Tony himself didn't have any reason to take the god in.

“He didn't have to”, Tony said, opening one cabinet after another until he found the dishes. “We spoke to him about our theory after SHIELD took you in, and as soon as he believed it, he wanted to get you out of there.”

“Your theory?”, Loki repeated, watching as Tony took two bowls and set them on the counter.

“That the scepter messed with your mind, too.”

Loki scowled at that, but he didn't object. He just stared at Tony, anger coloring his scent.

“You don't have to be happy about us noticing that”, Tony said, shrugging. “It did work in your favor, though. Thor would've taken you back to Godland otherwise, and I'm not sure if that would have been better than this.”

Loki didn't show whether he agreed or not. “Why you?”, he asked instead.

Tony shrugged again and began filling one of the bowls with soup. “Since Odin wants you to stay on Earth and Thor wanted you out of that cell, they had to find another place for you. Your brother came to me, and after some prodding I gave in. We had to talk SHIELD into it, first, and now I have to make some jets and stuff for them, but they're gonna leave us alone.” Tony sighed and placed the bowl and a spoon in front of Loki, not quite meeting the god's eyes. “But apart from that, I just – I don't know, I thought this was the right thing to do.”

“But why are you doing _this_?”, Loki asked again, eyes searching Tony's face. He made no move to eat the soup.

Tony hesitated, and in the end decided to simply avoid giving a real answer. “Look, if you don't want me here, that's fine. Say the word and I'll leave you alone. I just wanted to help, because you needed it. And you -”

“And I am an _Omega”,_ Loki finished his sentence, very nearly spitting the word out. “Is that it?”

“No”, Tony replied. “That's not it at all.”

(That was only a minor lie, right?)

Loki didn't believe him. That was plainly obvious in the way his eyebrows went up and his eyes narrowed. They stared at each other for a moment, until Tony broke the loaded silence.

“You deserve to get it, is what I wanted to say”, he stated, pushing the spoon in Loki's direction. “The help, I mean.”

Loki held his gaze for a while longer, but didn't say anything, and after a few moments his shoulders slumped only the tiniest bit. He looked away, eyes skittering around until they found the bowl of soup in front of him. He reached out and fiddled around with the spoon for a second before he finally began to eat, _thank god._ It wasn't hard to see that Loki was still sick and weak, and Tony wondered just how much strength the conversation had demanded from him. But of course, Loki had to have questions, and he also seemed to be proud and stoic as hell. Tony knew that he still had a lot of explaining to do, and the thought made him nervous.

He turned around to fill the second bowl with soup for himself, needing to busy his hands. He itched to bury himself in his lab for a few days to clear his head, but he didn't want to leave Loki alone as long as the god didn't throw him out.

_He didn't want to leave Loki alone._

(Ah, fuck.)

When he turned around to Loki again, the god was already finished, spooning the last bits of soup out of the bowl. Tony looked at him, then down at his own soup, and then sighed and pushed his bowl towards Loki, too.

“Here. Careful, though, this is your kitchen. If you puke over the counter, I won't be the one cleaning the mess.”

Loki swallowed slowly, glancing between Tony and the soup, but after a moment he wrapped hesitant fingers around the second bowl and pulled it towards him. “Thank you.”

The words were said quietly, but at least they sounded honest, this time.

 


	4. Chapter 4

Loki didn't remember what it felt like to have a full stomach. He'd emptied three bowls of soup in less than ten minutes and now felt slightly nauseous, but he couldn't bring himself to care about that. He enjoyed it, even, and found that being sick because he ate too much was the better alternative to being sick because he hadn't eaten anything in weeks. Stark was sitting next to him at the counter by now, watching with raised brows as Loki devoured a fourth refill. He himself didn't eat anything, even though Loki suspected that he had initially wanted to. Loki tried to not look at him too much – gave his best to ignore him, really – but he had the feeling that he didn't succeed in that.

He felt better. Still miles away from good, but better. He was still weak; the walk to the bathroom and back to the kitchen had been enough to make him dizzy, and even sitting straight on the bar stool was exhausting. But it was a weakness he could handle and hide, not any longer one that overpowered him. He could wait until Stark was gone and then collapse again, preferably on the bed instead of the sofa. But as long as Stark was here, he would go to the bathroom on his own and sit on the damned bar stool, no matter how exhausting it was. The last day had been humiliating enough.

Thankfully, Loki's memories were quite blurry. He knew that he'd been lying in bed for ages before Stark had come, and that the human had helped him take a bath and then got him to the sofa, where he had apparently blacked out. He remembered hearing Stark's voice, but couldn't say whether the words he recalled had been said before or after he'd fallen asleep. He had woken up to Stark's voice too, and also with the man's scent in his nose.

That scent was everywhere, now. It made the living room seem a little bit more lively. Friendlier, even. Loki hadn't even realized it at first, only when Stark had sat down next to him a few minutes ago. The smell was blatant _._ Not exactly sweet, but heady – probably able to cloud Loki's thoughts if he allowed it. There was also an odd note to it, something that smelled like... an echo of restlessness, perhaps. Stark seemed to be nervous. But that particular component was buried under the others, and those others were _nice._ Loki couldn't stop thinking about it, just like he couldn't stop stealing glances at the human. _The Alpha._

Ridiculous.

Loki had always prided himself on his rationality. He used to think things over before he did them, carefully contemplating what he wanted to achieve and then _how_ he could achieve it. He was able to spin the most complicated plans, and then patient enough to follow through with them. Of course his plans not always served rational motives – he was known for mischief, after all, and mischief was rarely rational –, but that hardly mattered. Because no matter if it was a prank or a political scheme, he was always in control of the situation. Took in every detail, every reaction from others and filed them away, knowing that they could be of use later on. He played with other people's feelings, with their irrationality, and knew how to make them work in his favor. He was a manipulator, first and foremost, and an opportunist, much more than he'd ever been a trickster or a villain. He'd always been in control of his own feelings, too. Had never showed them openly, even as a child. (So unlike Thor and his dazzling temper.) He had acted on his feelings, yes, but had always taken care that they wouldn't overpower him. That had been his first rule, the one he'd obeyed even while breaking all others.

He wasn't sure if that rule still applied.

It had begun to crumble the moment he had started to scheme against Thor's coronation, certainly. But he'd had a good excuse for that; Thor _had_ been inapt to become king. But then Jotunheim had happened, and Loki couldn't say if he'd had a single rational thought, back then. And then his fall and the void, of which he didn't remember that much altogether. He believed he had followed his rule there, at least; otherwise he wouldn't have made it to Midgard. And now...

Now he was starting to feel content in a human's, his enemy's presence just because he _liked his smell._ He'd let Stark help him – _bathe_ him and bring him to bed and feed him, and he let himself be calmed by the man's closeness. He was starting to trust him, even, and Loki had never trusted easily. That was not rational. _Instincts_ , Stark had said, and _Omegas tend to react better to Alphas_. Loki knew that had to be the reason why he reacted as he did, and he didn't like it in the slightest. He couldn't change it, though. The only thing he _could_ do was keep a clear head and not give into the biology of his own body.

He had barely thought about that until now. In fact, he had tried to forget his true heritage as soon as he had learned about it. It had been bound to catch up with him at some point, but he hadn't expected it to _ruin_ him like this. He knew that he was a Jotun, that he belonged to a race of monsters, but he also knew that that didn't technically made him one. He had grown up in Asgard, after all, and even though his heritage might be what had always made him different and less liked, maybe even less worthy, it didn't make him cruel or sanguinary. He'd seen Aesir who were far from being virtuous and good, just like him. Maybe there were Jotnar who were better. And if he wasn't virtuous, if he wasn't _good,_ then that was simply what he was – his _character_ , not his race or biology.

But this – this _was_ his race, this was his biology, and he hated it from the very core of him.

But he shouldn't think about that and what he might be able to do against it, not now. Not with Stark still next to him. And so Loki ate his soup and stole glances at the man – the Alpha – and wondered if Stark was reacting to him in a similar way. That was more than likely, maybe even the explanation Stark had refused to give him just minutes ago. And perhaps Loki could make it work in his favor, too; but for that he would need to understand this system better.

Stark's eyes met his more than once, and Loki wasn't exactly surprised when the man spoke up after a while. “Can I ask you a question?”

Loki looked at him briefly before he returned his attention to his meal again. “You can certainly try.”

“How much of our myths about you guys is true?”

Loki blinked at the human and swallowed slowly, surprised. He had expected questions about the invasion – and he was sure he would receive them, at one point or another – or maybe even his race, but surely nothing like that. He wondered if Stark was trying to fool him, but the human seemed to be sincere in his curiosity. His tone was light but tentative, as if he wasn't sure if he should be asking questions in the first place; the look in his brown eyes attentive and unmistakably intelligent. Loki's own gaze lingered on Stark's playful smile for a second before he forced himself to look away again. It made him feel uneasy, and he doubted that the odd feeling in his stomach had anything to do with the soup. That was _definitely_ not rational, and that smile had absolutely no right to make him feel so -

“I do not know much about your myths”, Loki said. The words came out a little bit too quickly, but he needed to distract himself from the direction his thoughts were threatening to go.

“Seriously?” Stark sounded dubious. “How's that?”

“I told you before, I have little care for humans”, Loki answered, “or for the stories you span about us. But I don't doubt that only a little of them resembles the truth.”

“Thor couldn't tell me, either”, Stark said, thoughtful. At Loki's blank look he added, “I asked him about this, too. He said those stories mostly came about after your people stopped coming down to Earth.”

“Why did you ask me, then?”

Stark shrugged, lips forming a crooked grin. “Dunno. Thought you'd be more interested in things like that than our friendly neighborhood thunderer.”

Loki frowned at the man, at once thinking that there was yet a little more to Stark's curiosity that he let on. “The Allfather forbid visiting Midgard”, he said slowly, keeping his tone even.

“And you obeyed.”

Loki returned Stark's gaze, unimpressed by the mortal's incredulous tone. “There are eight other realms to explore, and each of them is more interesting than this little planet of yours.”

“Okay, that raises a ton of other questions”, Stark said, not minding the god's admittedly insulting words that much, apparently. “But I think you're gonna rip my head of if I ask even one of them.”

Loki arched a brow, but didn't say anything. He didn't have to, anyway, because Stark already continued.

“So you haven't been around since, what, a thousand years?”

“Roughly, yes.”

“Interesting”, was all Stark said, and Loki couldn't get rid off the feeling that he had just revealed more than he should have.

He glared at the human and pushed the now empty bowl away from him. He took care to leave his hand on the counter as he slipped from the bar stool, trying to steady himself without making his weakness too obvious. His head span for a few seconds, but then he believed he could stand and walk without making a fool of himself.

“Back to bed?”

Loki refused to look back at Stark while he gathered his blanket up. “Yes.”

“Okay”, Stark said, sounding hesitant again all of a sudden. “I, uh... I haven't been there. In your bedroom. I mean, I changed the sheets, but that was yesterday and I left the windows open, so I think my smell should be gone by now. Same goes for the bathroom. I'm sorry I got it all over this room, though.”

Now Loki did look at the mortal, his eyes narrowed. He didn't reply – didn't know what to reply – and so simply watched for a moment as Stark fidgeted a little in his seat.

“I know I should've asked you first before spending a whole day here and... well, you get what I mean. Sorry about that.” Stark looked at Loki, obviously waiting for him say something, but Loki didn't do anything else but blink at him. The human rolled his eyes a little and said, “okay, whatever. What I mean to ask is, uh – do you want me to go? I've nothing against staying here, really, but if that makes you uncomfortable or anything I can -”

“Yes.”

It was Stark's turn to blink. “Yes what?”

“I want you to leave”, Loki clarified.

“Oh”, Stark made, a strange expression scurrying over his face. Something in his scent changed, but the change was so minor that Loki couldn't say what it meant. “Okay, then. Good.”

Loki held his gaze for a moment longer, then he turned around and started to walk in the direction of the bedroom.

“Uh, another thing?”

Loki stopped, glancing over his shoulder to give Stark an annoyed look. Stark hopped from his stool and came over to Loki, his steps careful. Loki waited for him to speak, relieved when the man came to a halt a few steps away from him.

“I asked a friend to come and take a look at you”, Stark eventually said, sliding his hands into the pockets of his pants. “He's a doctor. Kind of. I think it might be good to really know what's going on with you. Because we just have theories so far.”

Loki looked at the smaller man for a long moment, thinking his words over. It was not a bad idea, per se. Loki hadn't allowed anyone to take a look at him, but Stark was right when he said having more information could be useful.

“Which friend?”, he asked eventually.

Stark made a face that made clear he'd hoped Loki wouldn't ask that particular question. He answered, anyway. “Bruce Banner.”

Oh, of course. Loki was about to snarl something, but Stark spoke up again before he got the chance.

“I know you don't like that idea, and that's completely understandable, but he's a friend. I trust him, and he's got himself under pretty good control. Really, I poke him with things, like, constantly, and I'm not the easiest person to be around, anyway, but he hasn't hulked out on me yet. And that's impressive. Also I think that he's better than any doctor SHIELD could provide, so...” Stark trailed off, finally ceasing his rambling, and lifted his shoulders. “Just think about it. Okay?”

That odd note Loki had smelled earlier was increasing. It made his skin itch with the need to make it disappear, if only so that he didn't need to smell it anymore. He didn't like it – it ruined the rest of Stark's scent, now that it had gotten stronger, and caused Loki to feel restless and nervous, too.

He clenched his teeth. “Fine.”

Stark stared at him in surprise, eyes widening. “Wait, really?” Loki didn't reply, because he knew that Stark was about to say more, anyway, and he was right. “Okay, that's good. Bruce will be back tomorrow. Is that too early? You can have some more days to rest, if you want.”

Loki shook his head, and then proceeded to walk away. Stark didn't hold him back, this time, and Loki was relieved when he could close the door to his bedroom behind himself.

That had _not_ been a rational decision.

 

xxx

 

Loki couldn't sleep in the bed. He lay awake the whole night, waiting to fall asleep, but the room felt so _empty_. He had figured out what was missing by now, and he knew that he could very easily solve this problem by sleeping on the sofa again – Stark's smell was still everywhere in the living room and kitchen. Loki was stubborn, though, and refused to let his _instincts_ command him like that. He had even thrown the blanket away to one corner of his bedroom, even though it was the only comfort he had. It still bore a little of Stark's scent.

Loki had been attentive to what Stark had told him in the cell. He had listened very carefully to every word, but he still wasn't sure if he had understood anything. It was complicated, a system that was so deeply woven into Midgard's society that it could hardly be explained in twenty minutes. He knew a little about how it worked for the Jotnar, but that was still different than the humans. His body shouldn't even react to them like it did, but it didn't care much about that, apparently. It was ridiculous, yes, and humiliating.

He would not give in to it.

And so he didn't sleep that night. Which meant that he probably wouldn't sleep the coming nights, either. But well, at one point his body would have to learn to sleep without any oh so comforting scents around it, and if he had to drive it to complete exhaustion first, then that was what he was going to do.

The next day found him tired and weaker again, but at least he was able to drag himself out of bed sometime around noon. He would have liked to explore the other rooms on his floor – he remembered Stark saying something about books and a training room – but in the end he didn't even manage to make breakfast. He wasn't familiar with the kitchen devices, and he didn't have the energy to deal with them. Beyond that, the whole room still reeked of Stark. It calmed him down, made him sleepy, and Loki knew that he would be asleep in seconds if he laid down on the couch again.

He clenched his teeth and shuffled out of the living room to take a bath.

The bathroom was much easier to understand than the kitchen. It was primitive compared to what he'd been used to in Asgard, but it answered its purpose. The warmth of the bath did him good. Coldness had never been a problem for him before – which made an horrible amount of sense, in hindsight –, but he still had been freezing the whole night. Probably also something he could thank his body and its current condition for.

The bathroom itself was free of any scents, too, which didn't stop to be oddly uncomfortable, but Loki found some scented bath oils in a glass cabinet. He hadn't bothered reading the labels, had just poured a little bit of everything into the tub. The air was heavy with a broad mixture of scents, so Loki sat in the tub with closed eyes and tried to identify every single one of them as he washed himself. He had the impression that his sense of smell was getting even better, which was as fascinating as it was disturbing. It was almost too much, but Loki decided that too much was still better than nothing.

“ _Loki, Mr. Stark would like to know if you are already awake._ ”

Loki reluctantly opened his eyes when the incorporeal voice spoke up. “Well, I obviously am.”

“ _I think his query was more along the lines of whether you want to be visited or not._ ”

“Do I have a choice?”

“ _Of course._ ”

Loki nudged one of the few remaining bubbles with his toe. “Will the creature be there?”

“ _I assume you speak of Dr. Banner?_ ”

Loki arched a brow at the disapproving tone. Apparently Stark's servant didn't like hearing _Dr. Banner_ be referred to as a creature, but Loki was not going to apologize for that. “Yes.”

“ _He is with Mr. Stark, yes_ ”, JARVIS replied. After a pause he added, “ _Mr. Stark would like me to tell you that you can still change your mind. If you don't want to see Dr. Banner, that decision will be respected._ ”

Loki pursed his lips and considered his answer. “Fine”, he said after a moment, “I will see them. But let me get ready first.”

“ _Would thirty minutes be enough time?_ ”

“Yes.”

“ _Very well, Loki._ ”

Loki got out of the tub. The water had started to get cold, anyway.

 

xxx

 

The creature seemed ridiculously non-threatening in this form. It – or rather _he_ , Banner, had absolutely nothing in common with the beast that had broken Loki's spine. Banner was about as tall as Stark – which meant that they were both about a head smaller than Loki, and had a way to move that spoke of caution and awkwardness. But there was still something in the way he held himself, a tension around his shoulders, and a disturbing shimmer in his eyes that made it all too obvious that the man's appearance was deceiving. Loki knew that he didn't move the way he did because he was helpless or afraid, but because he was aware that he was the most dangerous person in this room.

Loki watched from the sofa as the two men entered his living room, Banner a few steps behind Stark, who greeted Loki with a crooked grin and a scent that very nearly made his head spin. Stark stopped a few steps away from the sofa, Banner still behind him.

“Hey, Rock of Ages. How ya doing?”

Loki only threw a brief glance at Stark before he concentrated on Banner again. He could smell him, now. It reminded him of something, but he couldn't yet put his finger on it – there was a note to Banner's scent that seemed almost familiar, but it was overshadowed by the smell of _wrongness_. Something that told Loki that Banner shouldn't be a threat, but was one, anyway.

“Uh. I don't think you've been properly introduced so far, so -”

“I think we know who we are”, Banner interrupted Stark, a tight smile tugging at his lips. “Hello, Loki.”

Loki mirrored the human's smile. “Dr. Banner.”

“Bruce”, Banner offered.

“No, I don't think so.”

“Okaaay”, Stark chimed in again, eyes flickering between Banner and Loki. “I'm not sure if this was the best idea I've ever had. Hey, have you eaten?”

Surprised, Loki looked at Stark and slowly shook his head.

“Great, because I woke up with a giant craving for pancakes this morning. I'm going to make some. Okay if I use your kitchen?”

Loki blinked and nodded, and then looked after Stark as the man made his way to the kitchen nook. He and Banner had locked eyes very briefly, but Loki couldn't tell what those looks had meant. He supposed Stark had spoken to Banner at length about him, maybe they had even executed a plan as to how to handle this, handle him, and Loki knew that he could not take it up with both of them, not in his current state.

He should be worried, probably. Scared, even.

He wasn't. ( _He should be.)_

“So, er... You might know that I'm not a real doctor?”

Loki focused on Banner again, who was still standing a few feet away from the sofa. “Yes, I know.” One corner of his mouth lifted into a smile. “Agent Barton told me quite a few things about you.”

“Yes, that's what I thought”, Banner replied with a sigh. He looked as if he felt out of place, his eyes skittering around before they settled on Loki. “Look, I won't examine you. I'm not going to touch you or anything, because I think we both wouldn't be comfortable with that.”

“Why are you here, then?”, Loki asked.

Banner shrugged and nodded towards Stark, who was in the kitchen pretending that he couldn't hear a word they said. “Tony's worried. He thinks you might feel better if you... well, actually _knew_ what's going on. And I'm somewhat conversant with situations like this, so he thought I'm better suited to explain these things than he is.”

“He did explain some things already.”

“Yes, but only the basics. I'd like to... go more into depth? You must have questions.” Banner waited, looking at him, and continued when Loki hadn't said anything after a while. “I think I know why your body is reacting the way it is. And I can tell you about every consequence that will have for you, and about ways to deal with them. I'm here to help, okay? If this is too early or if you just don't want to talk to _me_ , that's totally fine.”

“I would like to know about your... theories”, Loki said. He'd already made his decision about this, and he wasn't going to back down now.

“Okay.” Banner sounded actually relieved. His smile returned, and this time it seemed sincere. “Can I sit?”

Loki nodded, and Banner sat down on the other end of the sofa, leaving enough space between them. Loki was leaning against the armrest, knees drawn up. He took care to keep his face blank as he looked at Banner, and proceeded to ignore Stark. The man was making fuss in the kitchen, quietly talking to JARVIS about how to make his pancakes. His smell had an odd component again, but now it seemed to be more along the lines of alertness than real nervousness. Loki knew that Stark was listening to every word they said, and that he would cross the room in the split of a second when he thought he would be needed. Loki was soothed by Stark's presence, by his scent in the air, and he knew that was the reason why he wasn't as worried as he should be. It was annoying and humiliating, and definitely not rational, and yet he liked it.

He liked it. Was that instinctive, like Stark had implied? Loki couldn't tell. He just knew that he liked the man's scent, just like he knew that he liked the smell of leather and leaves. _Instincts_. He wondered what Banner was going to tell him – certainly he would explain what and who Loki was. Maybe he thought he knew that, knew Loki, just because he knew that Loki was an _Omega._

As if they all had no other choice but to be what their heritage had chosen for them.

And Loki wanted to be so much more than that.

 


	5. Chapter 5

In the three weeks Loki had been in the cell, Stark had been the only one who had come to talk to him. Loki had spent those weeks in a practically odorless area, and so he hadn't had the chance to examine that many scents of people from up close. But there had been a few, and Loki hadn't been able to stop thinking about them.

Four people had been present when he'd entered the cell. The tall, dark-skinned human who led that petty organization of theirs and whose smell had been rather petty, too. There had been only a faint whiff of  _something_ , which Loki could only in hindsight identify as an echo of the aromatic smell that adhered to Stark.

The soldier had been there as well; almost as tall and bulky as Thor, but smelling much better. Rogers' scent was entirely different than Stark's, somehow not as crisp and heady, but they had the same base note. Something about it had made Loki's skin itch, still, and not in a pleasant way.

Then, his agent – Barton, who had looked at him with not as much hate in his now regularly blue eyes as Loki had expected. His smell had almost been the worst of them all, if it hadn't been topped by that damned woman.

The Black Widow smelled like nothing. Not in the way Fury did, because Loki had still been able to smell  _something_  of him. But she? Nothing. She didn't have a scent, and every fibre of Loki's body had known only one reaction to that: aversion. Loki hadn't known much at that time – he'd been exhausted and sick and barely conscious, but he  _had_  known that something about Natasha Romanoff was not right. Unnatural.

And now, there was Banner. He didn't smell like nothing, thankfully, but something about him was not right, either. Now that he could smell him from up close, Loki could tell what seemed to be so familiar about his scent. H smelled a little bit like Rogers, and also like Barton. Loki could guess what Banner and Rogers had in common, but Barton? Loki couldn't say. It wasn't exactly uncomfortable as soon as Loki got used to it – on the contrary, really. Banner's smell might not be as  _good_  as Stark's and that artificial note he shared with Rogers might be unsettling, but it was somehow calming in its own way. Loki was quite sure that the small man was no Alpha, because he couldn't detect that note Stark and Rogers had in common, but Loki still found himself reacting. He just couldn't say how, or exactly to what.

That was what he thought about as he sat with Banner on the sofa, waiting for the human to speak up. Banner seemed to be about as euphoric to have this conversation as Loki, and so it took a few minutes until the silence between them was broken.

“I'm not quite sure where to start." Banner's voice sounded calm, almost friendly. “Do you know more than what Tony told you?”

Loki's eyes flickered to Stark, who had his back turned towards them. “No.”

“Did you understand everything he said?”

“Of course I did.”

“I mean, do you have any questions about that?”

“No.”

“Okay”, Banner said, even though the look he gave Loki told him that he didn't actually believe him. “So... well, JARVIS did some scans of you, so we know which levels your hormones are on at the moment. According to those data, you're in the middle of your presentation right now.”

Loki quirked a brow.

“You know that humans have a primary and a secondary gender, yes?”, Banner said, and Loki nodded. “So, at birth, humans are either male or female. The secondary gender gets revealed when one is around fifteen years old, in a process we call presentation. The body goes through a few changes, with the result that one presents as either Alpha, Beta or Omega.”

Loki nodded, remembering that Stark mentioned something along those lines, only that he hadn't called it presentation. There was one thing not making sense about that explanation, though. “I am not fifteen.”

“No”, Banner said, pushing up his glasses. “I think that your presentation was suppressed your whole life, until now. That is... extremely unhealthy, to say the least. It's probably the reason why yours is now taking several weeks, because as an adult, your body needs more time to adjust and go through the changes. But your hormones are already beginning to balance out, so it won't be longer than a few more days, probably.”

“Lovely.”

Banner smirked at him. “Are you sure that something like this has never happened before?”

“Oh, I think I would have noticed”, Loki said dryly.

“Yeah, probably”, Banner agreed. “Well, I can't say how or why it was suppressed, but I have a theory as to why you're presenting now.”

“Why, pray tell.”

Banner shifted so he could face Loki properly, one leg folded beneath him. “Now, I can only make assumptions about your physiology, since you aren't human, so I can't say for sure whether these theories are true. But for us humans, presentation is mostly triggered by being around other humans. As soon as the body is ready, it reacts to other people, to their closeness, to their scents. Whether you're an Alpha or an Omega is a matter of genes, but humans regularly present as Betas because they weren't around suitable Alphas or Omegas in time of their presentation. That's quite rare nowadays.” Banner paused, maybe to give Loki the chance to say or ask something, but when the god stayed silent he continued. “So, as far Thor told me, people on Asgard only have one gender, yes? Either male or female.”

Loki nodded, already furrowing his brow.

“Assuming you were in Asgard during the time your presentation would have started, you lacked the necessary elicitors.”

“Shouldn't I have become a Beta, then?”, Loki asked.

“Yes, that's the weak point of this theory”, Banner admitted, smiling almost apologetically. “I can't tell why that didn't happen. Maybe for your race it's either Omega or Alpha, or you  _would_  have presented as a Beta, but couldn't because your presentation was suppressed as a whole. I'm afraid I can't tell. But I think we can be sure that being on Earth and around humans was what triggered your presentation.”

Loki pressed his lips together and thought the scientist's words over. “That can't be true”, he said eventually.

Banner blinked at him. “Why not?”

“According to your theory, my presentation started when I came into contact with humans for the first time”, Loki said slowly, “because your physiology is compatibly with mine.” Banner nodded encouragingly, the look in his eyes attentive and curious. Loki frowned slightly, sorting his thoughts. “For one thing, I have been on Midgard before. But I was still very young then, not much more than a child, so maybe it was just too early. But not that long ago, I was...” He broke off and cleared his throat, but forced himself to hold Banner's gaze. “I was in Jotunheim.”

“Jotunheim?”, Banner said, and now Loki did avert his eyes. He didn't need to say anything, though, because Banner already seemed to understand. “Ah. Thor said you weren't Asgardian, but he didn't tell us much more than that. You're from Jotunheim, then?”

Loki forced himself to nod. He didn't get the reaction he had expected – of course he didn't; Banner was a human. He didn't know anything about Jotunheim or the Jotnar. For him, being a Jotun was probably the same as being an Aesir, because both just meant 'not human'. And so Banner just nodded and accepted it, his mind already wandering elsewhere as it seemed.

“Did you have that scepter with you?”, he asked.

Loki almost laughed, but he bit down on it and shook his head. “No, that was... long before that.”

Banner hummed thoughtfully. “I think that scepter suppressed your presentation as long as you had it”, he explained, “but if you didn't have it on Jotunheim and were around other, ah -”

“Jotnar.”

“Jotnar”, Banner repeated with a smile, “then your presentation should have been triggered. Do you have an idea why that didn't happen?”

“Maybe I did not stay long enough”, Loki said flatly, even though he assumed that wasn't it. He had visited Jotunheim a few times before the coronation and after, so it should have been enough time for his body to react.

Banner seemed to think something similar, because he shook his head and said, “your hormones kicked in as soon as the scepter lost its impact on you. Your body has probably been ready for... well, centuries, probably. Just a few minutes should have been enough.”

Loki looked at his knees, trying to make sense of this. All in all, Banner's theory sounded logical. Somehow, his body's reaction was suppressed until he set a foot on Midgard a few weeks ago, and whatever had achieved that had also been at work in Jotunheim.

Suddenly, it was almost absurdly obvious.

Loki's stomach clenched painfully, but he gave his best to ignore the feeling. He cursed himself for not having thought of this any sooner – not that it would have helped him at any point, but he'd been so stupid – so  _naive_  – for not having thought of it.

“Loki?”, Banner's quiet, calming voice asked. “Are you alright?”

Loki realized that he had closed his eyes, and so he swallowed and opened them again, forcing himself to meet the human's eyes. “I think your theory  _is_  right, after all”, he said, aware that his voice dripped with bitterness.

“Okay”, Banner said, adjusting his glasses again. “Do you want to tell me more? You don't have to, of course, I know it's not really my business.”

Loki hesitated, unsure whether he should be honest or not. He was just about to explain himself when they were both distracted by steps coming towards them. Stark approached the sofa, two steaming cups in his hands.

“I made tea”, he announced, already handing Banner one of the cups. Banner smiled at him in thanks and started to sip his drink, but Stark was looking at Loki. He set the other cup on the sofa table in front of the god. “For you. Or do you want something else? I honestly can't tell if you're more a tea or a coffee person.”

“I think tea would be better than coffee, anyway”, Banner chimed in, smirking at Stark over the rim of his cup. He glanced at Loki. “Until you're recovered, at least.”

“Tea is fine”, Loki said, not looking at either of them. He didn't enjoy being coddled – or enjoyed it too much, perhaps – but taking the cup into his hands was a good method to keep them from trembling. He had started freezing again, too, so the warmth of the tea was more than welcome. “Thank you.”

“You're welcome”, Stark replied cheerfully. “Pancakes are almost ready, too.” He winked at Loki and then left, not without throwing a warning glance in Banner's direction.

Banner chuckled into his cup, and Loki yanked his gaze away from Stark to look back at him. Banner returned his gaze and let his cup sink into his lap.

“He isn't used to having an Omega around”, he told Loki, still smiling. “He's freaking out a little.”

Loki gritted his teeth. “I think he knows very well that I'm no threat at the moment”, he said grimly.

“That's not it”, Banner objected. “Besides, I think you could still throw him out of a window if you wanted to. He's just worried.”

“ _Worried”,_  Loki repeated, all but spitting the word out. “I'm not a child in his care.”

“No, but he's taken you in”, Banner said gently. “You live in his house, and you're sick. He wants to help. That's just -”

“Instinctive?”, Loki interrupted, a mocking smirk tugging at his lips.

Banner snorted. “How he is”, he corrected, shrugging when Loki glared at him. “Sure, instincts might play into it, too. But if I know anyone able to ignore their instincts and act against them, that's Tony Stark. If he didn't want to, he wouldn't be here right now.”

Loki searched the human's face for signs that he was trying to fool him. “Why would he want to help me?”, he asked eventually.

“He's a good man”, Banner answered, lifting his shoulders again. “I mean, ask him why he's doing this and he'll try to talk his way out of it. That's how he is, too. But he's still one of the most generous people I know.”

“Thanks for the praise, Brucey”, Stark called from the kitchen, “but if you two want to talk about me, I'd rather leave the room. You're making me blush.”

“You concentrate on your pancakes”, Banner called back. To Loki he said, “he's also an idiot most of the time.”

“I heard that!”

Banner just rolled his eyes and sipped his tea. “Anyway”, he said after a moment, “where were we?”

Loki looked at him, and made another definitely not rational decision in the split of a second. “The Allfather laid a glamour on me. I think that is what suppressed... this.”

Banner blinked, setting his cup on the table. “A glamour?”

“A spell”, Loki explained. “To make me appear Aesir to everyone's eyes, even mine. It hid my true heritage.”

“Why would he do that?”, Banner asked, apparently perplexed.

Loki swallowed and looked away, tracing the edge of his cup with his thumb. “I would rather not talk about that.”

“Okay”, Banner said instantly. “That's fine. Can I ask another question?”

Loki glanced at him and nodded slowly.

“So, if I understood correctly, that spell isn't... active anymore?”

“No, it is not.”

“But you... I mean, Thor's the only Asgardian I know, but you don't look different than him. All in all.”

“Odin's glamour was dismantled when I...” Loki trailed off, staring down into his tea, and tried not to remember how it had felt being taken apart and put together again, time and time again. His fingers twitched, and after a moment he set his cup aside, too, afraid he would make the tea spill over. “Before I came to Midgard. I learned to conceal my heritage myself. This glamour is mine.”

“I see”, Banner said slowly. “So, Odin's spell also suppressed your presentation. And you didn't know that there was something to be suppressed, so  _your_  glamour didn't. And then you had the scepter.”

“The scepter only affects the mind”, Loki replied, knowing that he sounded weary. He couldn't help it. “I'm not sure if it really was responsible for the suppression.”

“That explanation is the best we came up with so far”, Banner said. “And the mind is connected to the body, after all.”

It was the only explanation Loki could come up with, too, so he accepted it. He glanced at Banner. “Do you still have it?”

“The scepter? It's still on Earth, yes.”

“You should take good care of it. In the wrong hands, it could be... fatal.”

“Should it stay on Earth?”, Stark's voice asked, and Loki looked up to see that the man was coming over to them again. He stopped in front of the sofa, the smile from earlier gone.

Loki arched a brow at him. “Are you asking me for advice?”

Stark shrugged. “Yeah. You were just about to give it, anyway.”

He seemed unusually serious. There was something about his scent that was much more than the hints of nervousness Loki had picked up before. What Loki smelled now bordered on  _fear_ , and he didn't like it.

“Where is the Tesseract?”, he asked.

“Thor took it to Asgard”, Stark answered, not even hesitating.

Loki licked his lips and thought it over. He would come, no matter where the stones were, but he would take longer when he needed to invade two realms instead of one for these two stones, especially when one of these realms was Asgard.. “Then the scepter should stay here.”

“Okay”, Stark said simply. “I'll talk to Thor and SHIELD.” He exchanged glances with Banner, and then added, “is there anything else you can tell us?”

Loki's face must have darkened, because Banner immediately jumped in. “Not now, of course. When you're better.”

“Yeah”, Stark agreed. He was looking at Banner a bit oddly and his smile was too tight. The unsettling note in his scent hadn't disappeared, either.

“Maybe”, Loki said eventually, and found that he meant it. Thinking about telling  _anyone_  about what happened in the Void still made him sick, but... Well.  _Maybe_.

“Cool.” Stark's smile turned into something else, something horrible similar to relief. “I've successfully made pancakes, by the way. One of you has to try them first, though, 'Iron Man poisoning himself with self-made pancakes' would be the saddest headline ever.”

“I volunteer”, Banner offered, standing up. “I think poisonous pancakes aren't that dangerous for me.”

“Sure, Big Guy's just gonna smash me in revenge.”

“He'd never do that”, Banner countered, taking his cup and walking off to the kitchen. “He's your biggest fan.”

“And greenest”, Stark added, causing Banner to snort. After a moment, Stark turned to Loki again. “You okay?”

“Yes”, Loki answered and stood up as well. He was hungry, which had to be a good sign, and he still had questions. And so he followed Banner to the kitchen, Stark directly behind him.

Even though a part of him just wanted to curl up on the sofa and sleep with the comforting, oddly warming mixture of Stark's and Banner's scents in the air.

 

xxx

 

Tony had never been the jealous type. No, he'd always been more the type for Huge Fear of Abandonment and Betrayal. That was sort of his thing; came with a lonely childhood and too much experience with both abandonment and betrayal. That had been his thing even before Obie had fucked him over. He'd had a pretty good method to live around that fear, though – not letting anyone close enough to abandon or betray him had worked quite well for him, along with a disastrous lifestyle that had entailed a lot of alcohol and adventurous, wonderfully meaningless sex.

And then, Pepper.

Now, after Pepper, Tony wasn't exactly planning on going back to said pre Iron Man lifestyle. That wouldn't work for him anymore. But he also knew that another relationship wouldn't work for him, either – in fact, he was sure that he just wasn't able to be in one. Maybe he'd never been. (Commitment issues went hand in hand with Fear of Abandonment and Betrayal, by the way.) The thing was, he wasn't an easy person to spend time with, to  _live with_. And if Pepper, who loved him – he didn't doubt that she did, just like she didn't doubt that he loved her – couldn't stand him for longer than a few months, probably no one could.

And that was fine.

Really. It was fine.

He didn't mind not being with someone. He didn't mind not being in a pack, either. That was unusual, yes, but most of the time he couldn't stand the mere thought of it. As an Alpha, he would most likely be the one leading the pack – because like hell was he submitting to another Alpha – and that was just... too much. He wouldn't be able to handle that.

He was already freaking out because he was eating pancakes with two Omegas, dammit. (And Bruce didn't even really count!) 

One of them was obviously still sick and tired as hell. Loki corrected his posture every few minutes, because he kept slumping every few minutes. Tony wondered if sitting on the bar stool was exhausting for him and if they should have stayed on the sofa, but he assumed that Loki would insist on staying in the kitchen out of pride. The god had yawned exactly two times, and Tony had caught him stifling a yawn two other, maybe three times. It seemed that Loki hadn't slept that well. But at least his hormones were doing good, at least according to the scans JARVIS had made earlier. His scent was even less muddled, now; it was becoming clearer and clearer that he was indeed an Omega. (An Omega who would soon smell too damn nice for his own good,  _fuck_.) Tony couldn't tell whether Loki was noticing that, or how it felt for him in general. He remembered his own presentation, how the scents of literally everything were too much and at the same time not enough, and how he hadn't been able to sleep or work or do  _anything_  without this ridiculous air freshener Jarvis had given him. The whole thing had been a pain in the ass, and then finding himself reacting to Omegas with  _let me cuddle and fuck you, please_ and to Alphas with  _let's fight over territories_ hadn't been better. But well, he had no idea how it was like for Omegas. Loki seemed to be okay, as far as someone could be okay after whatever he'd been through. He was wary, yes, and reacted to the slightest movements or softest sounds like some kind of cornered animal, but it seemed that he was starting to relax a little in their presence. At least he ate without hesitation, albeit somewhat slowly, and listened while Bruce dryly praised Tony for his pancakes.

Loki was also smiling.

Well, smirking.

At Bruce.

And Tony had never been the jealous type, but  _damn_ , that smirk was a lovely one. Sincerely amused and somewhat secret, probably nothing Loki was showing them deliberately. It was a bit mischievous, perhaps, but that was probably just Loki's way of smiling. It was a good look on him, and not even the gigantic bags under his bloodshot eyes or his pale and hollow cheeks could change that. He didn't say anything, didn't even look at them apart from the small glance he'd thrown in Bruce's direction, and now sat there, eating his pancakes with syrup and smirking to himself.

That smirk could mean two things. Either Loki was actually starting to relax in their presence, or he was planning to kill them. There was nothing in between. Well, maybe there was, because there was the chance that Loki just really liked pancakes. Or Bruce, maybe he liked Bruce.

That would be good, Tony persuaded himself. He should be happy about that. He would probably freak out even more if the two of them wouldn't get along.

Which was so not something he should be thinking about. And also this wasn't about either of them getting along with Loki, because Loki was – okay, not really a prisoner, maybe, but something along those lines.

Still, seeing him smile a little felt good. It  _was_  a lovely smile. Tony was almost disappointed when it vanished very quickly again, probably because Loki had noticed he was doing it.

After Tony and Bruce were done bickering around a little, they lapsed into silence for a while. Loki still didn't look at them, but eventually he asked his half-eaten pancake, “what will happen when my presentation is over?”

The word 'presentation' sounded weird as it passed his lips, as if it was in a language Loki didn't fully understand. Which was weird, given that Loki spoke English as if he'd been born in Oxford, but at the same time understandable. He wasn't familiar with human terminology, after all, even though his Allspeak, as Thor had called it when Tony had asked one time, allowed him to understand the words.

“For one thing, you should feel much better”, Bruce said in his zen-like way of speaking. "Your hormones are still a bit of a mess. If you're feeling dizzy and nauseaus now and then, that's probably the reason for that. Mood swings are common, too. Things like that should pass when your hormones have balanced out completely."

"And then?" Loki looked at Bruce now, his eyes flickering to Tony only very briefly.

Tony didn't even try to pretend that he wasn't listening. He was standing on the other side of the kitchen island, elbows resting on the counter while he ate. He could look at them both from this position, but it didn't seem to bother them that much. They'd talked with him in the room earlier too, after all, and Tony wouldn't have been comfortable leaving them alone, anyway.

"I can't tell how much is going to change for you", Bruce answered Loki's question, sounding pensive. "Maybe you won't even feel like there's a difference. You'll probably be more sensitive to scents than before, especially to those of people." Bruce paused briefly. "And you will go into heat, of course."

Loki stared at the scientist. "Heat."

"Yes", Bruce said hesitantly, darting a look at Tony. "You didn't...?"

"Come on, as if that would've been the first thing you would have told him", Tony said, feeling the urge to defend himself.

"Well, maybe not the first thing, but -"

" _Heat_?", Loki pressed impatiently, causing them to focus on him again.

Bruce cleared his throat and pushed up his glasses. "Yes. You... You know that on Earth, Omegas are the ones who bear the children?

Loki nodded, his lips forming a thin line. His smell set Tony on edge, and he barely kept from shifting nervously on his feet.

"Well, in order to get pregnant, Omegas go into heat", Bruce explained, his tone careful and gentle. "It's a part of a cycle they go through. Human Omegas go into heat about every three months, lasting a few days. That can vary, though. In the beginning, your cycles probably won't be that regular." Bruce made a pause, but Loki just looked at him blankly. "So, during heat, Omegas tend to get very aroused. It's a natural process, to ensure procreation. In addition to that, Alphas experience a rut roughly every four weeks. That's the counterpart to an Omega's heat, basically."

Loki didn't say anything for a long time. He just stared at Bruce, the look in his eyes so distant and sealed that Tony doubted he was seeing anything. Bruce glanced at Tony, but he knew better than to try to soothe Loki with words right now. The god smelled as if he was about to destroy something, disgust and anger poisoning his scent. To Tony's surprise, Loki stayed exactly where he was and didn't flee the situation. 

After some time the silent staring became a bit creepy, though.

"Do you want us to leave?", Tony asked eventually.

Slowly, Loki turned his head to look at him. Tony had no idea how to interpret his expression. When Loki spoke, he sounded disturbingly calm.

"I am being influenced by scents", he said, returning his gaze to Bruce. "Will that lessen?"

Bruce blinked at the god. He seemed to need a moment to gather himself, but then he said, "maybe a little. Most people are especially sensitive during presentation. It's different for everyone, though. You won't stop reacting to them as you probably already do, not completely, but it will get easier to handle, in time."

That seemed to soothe Loki a little. At least his scent lost a bit of its acidic quality. 

"Is it too much?", Bruce asked after a moment, still tentative. "The scents?"

"No." Loki's voice sounded far too even, almost distant. "No, I..." He cut off and looked away.

“Yes?”, Bruce encouraged.

“I seem to have trouble with.... the opposite.”

“The opposite? The opposite of what?”

Loki didn't reply, just shoved another fork load of pancake into his mouth without looking at any of them. Tony raised his brows. _Mood swings, huh?_ Either Loki had already calmed down again, or he was consoling himself by planning to dismantle the kitchen or something. He still smelled angry, but it seemed that he always did, and his body hadn't lost an ounce of tension. Tony assumed his calmness was just a facade. He thought about what Loki had wanted to say, an it didn't take long until understanding dawned on him.

“The opposite of smelling too much?”, he guessed, thoughts already reeling in search of a solution. “You've trouble when there's nothing to smell?”

Loki's mouth twitched in frustration and he refused to meet Tony's eyes. A whole minute passed until he admitted, “not nothing. No one.”

Oh! Well, that -

 _Oh._ Fuck. He'd just thought about that, goddammit! So that was why Loki seemed to have trouble sleeping, too. Probably also why he'd stayed in bed for two days without being able to rest. And Tony had made sure to leave the windows open so his scent wouldn't bother Loki too much. _Great job, Tony._

“Okay”, he said as soon as he found his voice again. “That's okay, no problem, I can -”

“ _No_ ”, Loki spat, green eyes glaring daggers at him. “You will  _not_  stay here while I sleep.”

“I wasn't going to offer that”, Tony answered, even though he wouldn't mind staying. Wouldn't mind that at all. “I'm thinking of something else. JARVIS, be a dear and order a few of these creepy air fresheners.”

“ _Right away, Sir._ ”

“Oh, that's a good idea”, Bruce said. Directed to Loki he explained, “they're devices that fill the air with various scents; a pretty good invention. Many people use them during presentation. I had one, too.”

“Same”, Tony said, nodding. “Couldn't even sleep without that thing. It's a bit weird, because there's actually no one around and it isn't  _quite_  right, but it's close enough.”

Loki gaze flickered between them, obviously not convinced. “They would fill the air with the scent of...”

“Alpha?”, Tony jumped in when Loki didn't finish. The god's eyes locked with his, and Tony shrugged. “You can also have lavender or something. Wouldn't help that much, though.”

“I don't need anything like that”, Loki said firmly.

“I think it would be the best solution”, Bruce said carefully. “If it bothers you, it probably isn't making recovering easier.”

Loki didn't say anything, and so Tony made the decision after a while. “I'll have them delivered to you in, what, Jay, a few hours?”

“ _Around five pm._ ”

“Perfect.” Tony looked at Loki. “You don't have to keep them, of course. Just ignore them if that's what you want.”

Loki scoffed and pushed his plate away from him. His facade was starting to crunble. “This is  _humiliating._ ”

Tony and Bruce exchanged another look, and this time it was Bruce who spoke up first. “I can imagine that this is really weird for someone who hasn't grown up with it. It probably doesn't help to know that things like that are completely natural.”

“It might be natural for you, but it isn't for me”, Loki shot back, eyes flaring with anger and frustration. “I refuse to rely on things like that. I have lived my whole life without needing an  _Alpha's_  smell to  _sleep.”_

“That's something that will ease when you've presented”, Bruce tried to soothe. He didn't seem to be bothered by the venom in Loki's voice. “An Omega doesn't need to -”

“I do not care what your  _Omegas_  need or don't need.”

Again, he spat the word as if it was the worst insult he could think of. Tony arched a brow. God, he should have expected this. “This isn't about the air fresheners, huh? It's about you being an Omega.”

Loki's eyes snapped back to him, but he didn't reply. He stared at Tony, and Tony stared right back until Bruce tentatively chimed in again.

“Being an Omega isn't a bad thing, Loki.”

"You should leave now", was apparently all Loki had to say to that. He stood up, swaying a little, and after he'd closed his eyes for a second he managed to walk away without problems. He didn't look back at them before he disappeared into the corridor leading to his bedroom.

"Well", Tony said after a moment, "I think it could've been worse?"

Bruce just sighed.


	6. Chapter 6

The door of the wardrobe had been unhinged and tossed across the room. There were shards on the floor, probably from the mirror that was integrated in one side of the closet door. A lot of clothes lay around on the ground, making it look as if either the wardrobe had exploded or someone hadn't known what to wear. The chair in one corner of the room was flipped over, and a curtain had been torn down. The bed was split in a half.

“If you come any closer, you will regret it.”

Tony arched a brow, eyes fixed on the curled up form in the middle of the ruined bed. “I'll stay right here”, he said from his place in the door frame. “Is that okay?”

Loki didn't reply, but Tony interpreted the silence as a yes. He wasn't sure what to say, and so he just looked at the mess that had once been Loki's bedroom a little longer. He knew that the god had done this; JARVIS had told him about it practically as soon as Tony had changed places from Loki's floor to his lab the day before. He wasn't quite sure about the _how_ , though. He'd watched the footage, and the destruction had happened from one second to another, all at once, with Loki already lying on the bed that had broken into halves beneath him. Tony had let JARVIS ask Loki if he'd be okay with company, but the answer to that had been a very firm _no_ , and so both Tony and Bruce had left him alone. This morning, Tony had pulled up the video broadcast of Loki's floor and seen that the god hadn't moved an inch. He'd kept an eye on him for a few hours, but at some point in the afternoon he had decided that he wasn't going to let Loki lay around and vegetate for another few days. He'd learned his lesson. And so he had asked for permission to enter Loki's floor again, and this time, oh wonder, the god had said yes.

Okay, he hadn't _technically_ said yes. But he hadn't said no, either, and that had to count for something, right? He'd just ignored Tony's question, and if JARVIS hadn't made another scan that showed that the god had been very much awake, Tony would have left him alone.

Maybe he _should_ have, anyway, because Loki clearly wasn't happy about him standing in his bedroom. Which was more or less understandable, but whatever, Tony had been worried. Was still worried, actually. Even though Loki was threatening Tony, which meant that he couldn't feel _that_ bad.

So, Tony should hurry to get away. Probably. He didn't really want to just invade Loki's territory – he wanted Loki to feel safe here. Of course, since he had already showed up here without having explicit permission (twice, even), he'd already fucked up. Of course he had.

“Did you want something?”, Loki's impressively bored voice asked suddenly.

“Uh”, Tony said. Very eloquent, _god, Stark, get your shit together._ “Do you want to watch a movie or something?”

Well, maybe not the best question to ask an already annoyed alien, but he'd panicked. And at least it made Loki lift his head and look at him.

“What?”

“A movie”, Tony repeated. “That's something humans -”

“I _know_ what a movie is.”

“Great”, Tony said and put on a grin. “Do you want to watch one?”

Loki narrowed his green eyes at him. “Why?”

“Because I think it'd be more fun than lying around here.” Tony pointed at the bed. “Also your bed's sort of broken. In case you haven't noticed.”

The god's head sank into the pillows again. “I do not want to talk.”

“Contrary to popular belief, I _can_ be quiet if the situation calls for it.”

There was a long pause before Loki asked, “Why are you here, Stark?”

“Because I can't imagine anything better than watching all three Back to the Future movies with the resident God of Mischief and Chaos. Also I like to live dangerously. Will I end up like the bed if I annoy you too much? That's something I'm dying to find out.”

“You are very close to getting your wish fulfilled.”

“Nice. You coming, then?”

Silence, for a long while. Then a sigh. Loki's voice was barely audible when he said, “I will take a bath first.”

“I think that's the best idea you've had in days. Do you want to eat something?”

Loki looked up again to glare at him, which was Tony's cue to leave him alone. He had helped Loki bath before, and he didn't want to repeat the experience, thank you very much. Now that Loki actually witnessed what was going on, he would probably strangle Tony before he got the chance to offer, anyway.

He went to the living room and had JARVIS pull the first movie up. He wondered what to do now, since Loki hadn't seemed that happy about his offer to make him something to eat. Gladly, he was distracted from his indecisiveness by a text from Bruce, who wanted to know if he was still alive.

 _I'm fine_ , Tony replied, _gonna watch a movie with him_

… _How?_ , Bruce sent back, followed by, _you know what, I don't care how you did it. Just don't annoy him too much._

_I haven't annoyed a single person in my life_

_I can give you a list that says otherwise._

Tony grinned and sent his friend a few emojis before he sat down on the sofa and tried to not feel out of place. Which was impossible, really. He wrapped himself into a blanket and thought about whether Back to the Future was a good movie to watch with Loki – it had been the first he could think of – but he feared that there simply _wasn't_ a good movie to watch with Loki right now. And it probably didn't matter, anyway. By the looks of him, Loki was dead tired. No wonder, he hadn't slept this night either, according to J's scans.

He was pulled out of his thoughts when Loki shuffled into the room after about twenty minutes. The god didn't deign to look at him as he passed the sofa on his way to the kitchen. He was dressed in a simple black shirt and gray sweatpants that seemed to be a little bit too wide. Loki was still unbelievably thin. Tony could see the shackle around his ankle, and wondered if that thing was even doing anything. He would have to ask about that, but he decided to leave Loki alone with that for the time being and talk about it when Loki was a little more comfortable in his presence. He watched as Loki opened the fridge and peaked inside, only to close it again. Then he inspected the kettle, scrunching up his nose about something. Tony didn't jump in to help him, and it didn't take long until Loki figured out how the kettle worked on his own. While the water was boiling, he opened a few cabinets and eventually took something out of one. Tony could hear something rattle, but he couldn't see what Loki had picked up.

“JARVIS?”, Tony heard Loki ask, the god's voice quiet and hesitant.

“ _Yes, Loki?”_

“What is this?”

“ _A rather popular brand of cereal_ ”, JARVIS answered friendly. “ _Humans eat it for breakfast, usually. It's not exactly healthy, but I've heard it's tasty._ ”

Tony smirked to himself and looked away, pretending to do something with his phone. That Loki asked JARVIS for help was a good sign, right?

It didn't take long until Loki joined him on the sofa, sitting down as far away from Tony as possible. He didn't look at Tony.

“Cheerios, huh?”, Tony broke the silence, still smirking.

Loki threw an annoyed look at him, but otherwise didn't let himself be disturbed. He took a first spoonful of Cheerios and seemed to approve of them – or at least Tony thought that, it was actually hard to tell. Loki kept his face thoroughly blank again. God forbid somebody noticed he had emotions.

“Do you want me to leave?”, Tony asked after a while.

Loki poked around in his bowl with his spoon. “You promised me a movie and no talking, I believe.”

And that was probably the closest to “No, I want you to stay” Tony was going to get, so he just nodded and started the movie. After thirty seconds he was sure that this was the _absolutely worst_ movie to watch with Loki, given that the god probably didn't understand or care for anything in it. But well, it was funny and Tony hadn't watched in a while, and he doubted that Loki would stay awake for that long, anyway. He was already yawning. But his eyes were fixed on the screen while he shoved spoonful after spoonful of Cheerios into his mouth. And wasn't that weird, watching Back to the Future with a Cheerios eating, yawning, godlike Omega from another planet? Yup, definitely. It was also nice, though. A little bit.

He'd forgotten (never really known) how calming the presence of a content Omega could be.

And Loki _was_ content, at least a little. It was a note that smelled somewhat out of place in his scent, just because Tony had never smelled it on him before. Loki wasn't angry in the moment, wasn't afraid, or at least not enough that his scent showed it.

In the end, Loki didn't even make it through twenty minutes of the movie. He'd set the empty bowl on the table and taken a few sips of tea before curling up on his end of the sofa, and now he was fast asleep. Tony watched the rest of the film, taking care not to nod off himself. When it was over, he took the blanket he'd been wrapped up in for almost two hours now. He didn't dare covering Loki with it and put it over the backrest of the sofa instead, close enough that Loki could smell it. Like that, Tony's scent should stay around for a while, so Loki could hopefully get a few hours of sleep. Since the god hadn't even touched the air fresheners and probably wouldn't want Tony to stay, the blanket would have to do.

Tony didn't actually want to leave. But he left, anyway.

 

xxx

 

Somehow, they developed a routine, even though that was the last thing Loki had wanted. Stark asked for permission to enter Loki's floor every day, but Loki allowed him in just once or twice a week. He did that only when he was already too tired to think clearly, and then they would settle down on the sofa and watch another movie, of which Loki wouldn't witness more than half an hour. He always fell asleep, _always_. And every time he woke up with Stark's scent close to him, because Stark didn't stop leaving that damned blanket somewhere near him.

But that wasn't even what annoyed him the most.

No, what annoyed him the most was that it _did not stop._

Banner had visited him a second time about two weeks after he'd moved into Stark's tower. He'd told Loki that his presentation seemed to have come to an end – it had taken a few days more than Banner had guessed, but now it was over. Or it should be, anyway. Loki couldn't really tell the difference. Fine, his weakness had probably more to do with everything that had happened in the past than with his presentation, and maybe he felt a _little_ more balanced, but that was all. He didn't stop being bothered by a lack of scents around him. He had actually tried one of the damned air fresheners by now, but it hadn't helped. He just didn't stop _needing_ Stark, didn't stop being influenced by the human's smell like that. He'd reluctantly admitted that to Banner, but all he had been able to tell him was that it just might take more time. And the way he had said that it had sounded dubiously like he didn't even know _if_ it would stop at all. It seemed that Loki was an exceptional case – no human's presentation had ever been suppressed that long, and given that Loki was no human in the first place, both Banner and Stark couldn't do anything but take guesses when it came to him.

So it might very well be that Loki would be stuck with _this_ his entire life.

He spent most of his days alone. He didn't want to see either Stark or Banner more than necessary, and they were the only ones asking to visit him. (Thor had asked three times in the first week, but Loki had never answered him.) Banner had told him that there might be more things Loki didn't yet understand, but Loki had mostly brushed him off. He didn't need more explanations – as far as he was concerned, he knew everything he needed to know.

And so he stayed alone. He was sure that he would recover alone, too. At least he had been in the beginning. After a month, he was already sure that he would never recover completely. His mind seemed to be porous and weak, and every so often he would collapse – a reminder of a bad memory was enough to make him panic. On some days he couldn't keep any food inside or wasn't even able to leave the bed after the sleepless nights he spent there. Not because his body was sick, but because his thoughts threatened to swallow him whole. The evenings he let Stark join him were the only times he could actually rest. More than once, Stark had offered to come more often, but Loki hadn't let him so far. He had no idea if Stark _enjoyed_ the time they spent together, but he certainly didn't seem to mind it. He'd fallen asleep now and then himself, a few times even before Loki, and mostly seemed relaxed in his presence. Loki was still wondering if Stark was influenced by _his_ smell, too. He didn't ask about that, though. He still had some of his pride.

At least his body was getting stronger. Slowly, though, and only a bit. He could do a little bit more each day – walk a little further or even read a few more pages without getting unbearably tired again. He'd tried to train in what Stark called the “gym” exactly once so far, but that had just ended with him nearly passing out. He managed to make small exercises instead, just to remind himself that his muscles were still working. JARVIS had helped him find something that wouldn't tire him too much.

It was his seventh week at the tower when Stark broke the most important rule – _no talking._

So far, he had managed to follow that rule well enough. Now and then he had asked if Loki wanted to eat or drink something or if a particular movie interested him or not, but he hadn't once tried to start an actual conversation. In the beginning, Loki hadn't believed the man was even capable of staying silent, but apparently he was. It made him a bit uncomfortable, now and then – Loki had become very good in detecting those little changes in Stark's scent – but even then he didn't talk.

They were watching a movie Loki was actually interested in (it didn't play on Midgard, even though the name of the realm was close enough, and the story was fascinating) and eating what Stark called “Chinese takeout” out of odd boxes. The food was good – Stark had ordered it, and surprisingly enough he had proven quite good in choosing dishes Loki liked. So yes, one could say that Loki almost felt comfortable with Stark next to him. It had turned out that the man was rather pleasant company when he didn't open his mouth.

Sadly, he had just opened his mouth, and was about to undo any good impression Loki might have gotten of him.

“So, how much magic can you still do?”

Loki turned his head to frown at the man next to him. Before he could say anything, Stark grinned apologetically and lifted his hands.

“I know, no talking. Sorry. That's just something I need to know.”

Loki was annoyed, but since he assumed that Stark wouldn't let this go that easily, he briefly lifted his right foot from the sofa. “This keeps me from using magic.”

“Not completely.”

“Yes, completely.”

“Nope.”

They looked at each other for a moment; Stark grinning, Loki frowning. Eventually, Loki sighed. “Fine. Not completely.”

“So?”

“This is a magic restraint of the Light Elves”, Loki explained reluctantly. The words left a sour taste in his mouth.

“Okay”, Stark said, drawing the word out. “That means absolutely nothing to me.”

Loki poked around in his box, hesitating to give an answer. He could guess well enough why Stark was asking about this. He hadn't once commented on Loki's destroyed bedroom since they had started, well, whatever it exactly was they were doing. The man had just saw to it that Loki got new furniture. Loki assumed that JARVIS had shown his creator what Loki had done, and of course Stark was fearing he could do _more._ He had expected Stark would ask sooner, though. Sadly, the passing of some time and the horrible fact that he was starting to get used to having Stark around now and then didn't make this conversation any easier.

“There are different ways to keep a mage from using their power”, Loki said eventually, refusing to look at Stark as he spoke. “The most obvious is to deny the concerned person any access to the quell of their magic. That is only allowed when they draw energy from their surroundings and not from themselves.” His mouth twitched. “That does not mean that this method isn't used in cases of the latter as well, of course.”

“Figures”, Stark said, sounding thoughtful. “But why isn't it allowed?”

Loki glanced at him. “It's the best way to ruin a mage completely. There are no chances for recovery.”

Stark stayed silent for a while. “But they didn't do that to you, did they?”, he asked then.

The human's scent had changed. Loki tried to ignore it, but that didn't work all too well. The note he smelled now was a new one. Well, not completely new – he believed there had been hints of it when Stark had come to his cell, but he hadn't been able to decipher its meaning back then. Now, Loki knew what it meant. The smell was only weak, but still sharp, almost stinging. It was by no means pleasant, but Loki still found himself comforted by it. That scent meant anger, meant determination and revolt, and the new sense he had gotten during his presentation claimed that this anger was very closely linked to protection. To loyalty.

“No”, he said slowly. “They used elvish runes to bind my magic. They increase the amount of energy I have to muster for using my power. Even the simplest spells require more than I currently have.”

“And how much energy did it take to take apart your bedroom?”

“Quite a bit. It was no... deliberate decision.”

Stark hummed. “Adrenaline, huh?”

Loki just shrugged and forced himself to continue eating.

“Does it hurt you or anything?”

Loki swallowed slowly and shook his head. “Well, it makes everything a lot more exhausting. But it doesn't exactly hurt, no.”

Stark didn't reply, apparently lost in thoughts. After a few moments, JARVIS inquired if he should start the movie again, which Loki answered with a nod. Loki could barely concentrate on it, though, and he wasn't really hungry anymore, either. Because, just for a brief moment, Loki had wanted to say yes.

 _Yes, they did that to me. Now what are_ you _going to do to_ them?

 

xxx

 

The next evening, Stark came to visit again. Loki was already sitting on the sofa, waiting for him. A few hours ago, Stark had suggested to watch the second part of the trilogy they had started today, so Loki wouldn't fall asleep twenty minutes in. Loki had rolled his eyes and said that was able to watch the movies on his own, too, to which Stark had replied with a whine and a complaint about “bad movie-buddies manners”. Whatever that exactly was. To his own surprise, Loki had given in. And he couldn't even blame that on Stark's smell, because they had just talked over the intercom of the tower. He had the bad feeling that Stark now assumed their rule of _no talking_ didn't apply anymore, and Stark confirmed that as soon as he stood in Loki's living room.

“So, uh, I thought about what you said about your magic. Yesterday.”

Loki looked at him, an annoyed frown already in place. “And?”

Stark shoved his hands into his pockets, shifting a little on his feet. “I wondered if you'd like your mojo back.”

Loki's annoyance turned into confusion. “What?”

“Just answer the question”, Stark said, but then he made a face and shook his head, “or you know what, don't. Forget about it. Are you hung-”

“No”, Loki interrupted him. “I'm not hungry. I want to know what you are planning.”

Stark just looked at him for a moment, but then he gave in, sighing.“You said that accessory of yours makes everything more exhausting”, he said, as if that explained anything.

Loki glanced down at the shackle around his ankle. “Yes.”

“Well, I talked to Thor. He knows surprisingly much about this whole stuff, says he read up about it. And then we talked to Bruce, and... we think you'll have a hard time recovering with that thing around your leg. Thor said a mage like you – well, that you _need_ your magic to heal. I'm not sure if I understood everything. Also we're wondering if your magic's somehow linked to your hormones and pheromones and stuff – Thor also said that it's a part of your body, sort of. So maybe that was another reason your presentation took so long? Could be; we can't say that for sure. Bruce is worried that it could mess with your heat.” Stark took a breath – had he even breathed during his rambling? - and met Loki's eyes, shrugging. “So, the end of the story is that I thought about... freeing you of that thing?”

Loki blinked at him, needing some time to process the human's words. The _offer._ Stark smelled like nervousness, and there was still a hint of that unfairly delicious anger somewhere, and Loki quickly became convinced that Stark was being sincere here. He wanted to _help._ Loki had no idea what to do with that.

“If I could access my magic again”, he said slowly, “it would be rather easy for me to subdue you.”

“Yeah.”

“I could flee.”

“Yes.”

“I could try to take over your planet again.”

Stark smirked. “If you wanted to.”

Loki stared at him. “Why would you offer something like that?”

“Because I know you won't do anything of the three”, Stark said simply. At Loki blank stare he added, “it'd be stupid. You're safe here. Safe from SHIELD, safe from Odin. Who'd still like to see you headless, by the way. You can stay here as long as you want and take time to heal. Go through your first heats somewhere comfortable and really get used to this whole stuff. And as to taking over Earth... don't bullshit me, I know that's not what you want.” Stark grinned and shrugged. “Look, I won't hold you back if you want to leave. But really, it would be stupid.”

Stark was right. That wasn't hard to see. It _would_ be stupid to leave Stark's tower, at least as long Loki still wasn't at his full power. But it didn't matter if it was stupid or not, it didn't even matter if he _would_ leave or not – as soon as he was free to do so. He still needed Stark to sleep, whether he liked it or not.

“So”, Stark said after a while. “Do you know how to get rid of that shackle? Because Thor doesn't.”

Loki bit his lip, then nodded slowly. “I might know a way.”

Stark let out a breath. “Okay, then. Come on, let's go to Bruce's lab.”

Loki blinked. “Why his?”

“Because I want him to be there.”

Loki arched a brow. “Because you want the beast to be there.”

“Don't call him that”, Stark said, and then he grinned. “But yeah.”

Well. At least he didn't try to lie.

 


	7. Chapter 7

Tony didn't want an Omega. Tony didn't need an Omega. Tony would never be able to take care of an Omega.

Those were facts. Scientifically proved, and unalterable. Not up for discussion.

But yeah, go ahead and try to explain that to Tony's goddamn idiotic, primitive, stubborn _Alpha Brain._ It simply didn't accept a no, okay? No matter how many times Tony told it no and no and _no, for fuck's sake_ – it was utterly convinced that Tony both wanted and needed an Omega (though it also didn't seem to be that sure about the taking care of another human part; at least that they could agree on). Tony honestly didn't understand where that was coming from; he'd been perfectly fine without an Omega for _years._ And it wasn't like he'd never been in contact with Omegas, either, and none of them had ever driven him insane like this. That hadn't happened since his freaking presentation! But well, it was happening now.

Bruce told him that it wasn't just Alphas instincts. That it might be a little bit more than that. He'd told him that with an amused, though slightly exasperated smile, and Tony had stared at him and decided that _no, just Alpha instincts. Definitely._

He was a coward like that.

“You reek”, Loki informed him in the elevator, and Tony became aware that freaking out right next to the Omega who was causing all his problems _might_ not be the best solution for them.

“What, am I offending your royal nose?”

“Yes.”

“Too bad.”

Loki was wrinkling said royal nose now, like he often did. He didn't complain more, though, just shifted a little on his feet and crossed his arms. He even refused to look at Tony, and his smell -

Huh.

Yeah, well, this wasn't the first time Tony noticed that Loki was affected by _his_ smell, too. That the god didn't like it when he was nervous, that it made him nervous in return. And that was natural, right, because no Omega liked it when their – no, bad brain, when _an_ Alpha around them was on edge. That hadn't happened often in the last few weeks, admittedly, because the time they spent together was ridiculously nice. For both of them; Tony knew that, even though Loki gave his best to hide it. He wasn't sure if the god noticed it the way Tony did – Loki was still very new to all this, and Tony certainly hadn't been able to divide instincts from literally anything else a few weeks after his presentation. Loki probably wasn't even aware that he was getting more and more comfortable in Tony's presence, that it wasn't anymore just any Alpha's scent that helped him fall asleep, but _Tony's._ That his own scent was starting to change in a way that made Tony want to purr in satisfaction and have a goddamn nervous breakdown, preferably at the same time.

Tony sighed, and tried to pull himself together and calm down. Freaking out wouldn't make any of this easier. And if he was lucky, he'd be rid of this mess in a few hours, anyway.

Alpha Brain didn't like that prospect one bit.

They entered Bruce's lab only a few minutes later, Loki staying just a bit behind him. Bruce looked up from something he was reading and smiled at both of them. Tony had spoken to him about this in advance, of course; his friend knew what was going on. It was clear that he didn't like this that much, though. He smelled vaguely of alarm, and that together with that unsettling, scientific note Bruce's scent always carried made Tony wonder whether it really had been a good idea to do this in his friend's presence. But when they actually managed to give Loki access to his magic again, Tony knew it would be good to have Bruce near. But still – it didn't escape his notice that Loki stayed behind him when they approached Bruce. He wasn't sure if Loki was aware of that, but he knew better than to bring it to the god's attention.

“Hey”, Bruce greeted them, looking at Loki while he added, “it's nice to see you're doing better.”

It was said tentatively, and Tony knew that Bruce was trying to be amenable. Loki just returned his gaze with slightly narrowed eyes, though. Bruce looked back at Tony, who just shrugged. He knew by now that Loki didn't talk much when he was uncomfortable and not in the mood to put on an act.

“So, we're trying to get the shackle off?”, Bruce asked.

“Yeah, Loki said he knows a way.” Tony nodded at Loki. The god was looking around in the lab and only reluctantly turned to look back at them again. He didn't say anything, though, so Tony prompted, “so? Can we just break the lock or something?”

“No”, Loki said in that tone of his that added _dipshit_ or more likely _imbecile_ to every sentence. He pointed at his foot. “This might look like normal metal, but it's much more than that. There are runes engraved in it, and you can't open the cuff if the runes don't allow it.”

“Let me guess, we're not allowed to do that.”

“You really are a genius.”

“Glad you noticed, Bambi.”

Bruce interrupted their bickering before Loki could sneer something in response. “Who _is_ allowed to open it?”

Loki inclined his head. “My mother. Odin, perhaps.”

“Oh”, Bruce said.

“Yes”, Loki agreed, smiling thinly.

“So what are we gonna do?”, Tony asked.

“We change the runes, of course”, Loki answered. “I need one of you to write them down first, I'm not entirely sure which characters they used.”

“I can do that”, Tony said immediately, and Bruce stood up to get him something to write. Loki hopped on the nearest table and waited until Tony stood in front of him, frowning. “Uhm.”

“I think you can't see the runes very well from there, can you?”, Loki asked sweetly.

Bruce laughed behind him, and Tony glared at both of them. “I liked you better when you were sick”, he told Loki and got down on his knees with a sigh.

“I'm still sick”, Loki said, wiggling his feet to take off his slippers.

“Sure you are”, Tony murmured and stared at the cuff around Loki's ankle. “I'm not seeing any runes here.”

“You have to activate it.”

Tony looked up at him again. “Earthling here, God Complex. I haven't had much experience with magic shackles.”

Loki sighed and stretched out his leg. “The panel should be on the inside of my ankle. A small dent in the material, a little smoother than the rest.”

“Right.” Tony still hesitated, staring at Loki's foot and asking himself what the hell he was doing.

He hadn't ever touched Loki before. Well, if you didn't count the whole Bathing Coincidence, which they didn't. They just pretended it had never happened, and given the fact that Tony hadn't even been thinking about touching _Loki_ in particular, it didn't matter, anyway. He hadn't even looked at Loki's body with something else in mind than 'holy shit, he's thin'. Now, Tony was all too aware that this _was_ Loki – Loki, who he'd been wanting to touch for _weeks._ But, well, he didn't even need to touch skin, right? Just the cuff.

Pity.

“Do you want me to do it?”, Bruce asked gently.

“No”, Tony and Loki said in unison, and then looked at each other with matching frowns.

Loki quickly smoothed out his face – he was a goddamn _master_ at that – and wiggled his foot again. And so Tony gritted his teeth and ran his fingers over the surface of the shackle. The metal felt pretty much like every metal Tony had ever touched, hard and cold. He couldn't feel any engravings, however, only slight ups and downs where the material followed the form of Loki's bones. It was almost impressive, really – the shackle seemed to be custom made for Loki, hugging his ankle without any air between his skin and the metal. It didn't seem to be too tight, but it also couldn't be moved one bit.

Tony wanted it _off._

Sighing, he let his fingers wander over the metal until he found what Loki had described – the cuff was a little thicker at one point, forming an almost square-shaped surface that felt slightly different than the rest. It was like touching glass, or like -

Tony snorted. “Is that a touch screen?”

“That is an adapt word for it, yes”, Loki said from above, making Tony look up at him again. The god looked uncomfortable, hell, he _smelled_ uncomfortable, and it wasn't hard to guess why.

“And now?”

“Activate it”, Loki said, and tapped a brief sequence of _thud – thudthud – thud_ on the table, “like this.”

Tony frowned and repeated the rhythm on the freaking touch screen of the shackle. His eyes widened when the metal vibrated beneath his fingertips, and he watched in something close to awe as complicated characters appeared on the cuff, glowing faintly red.

“One ring to rule them all”, he quoted. Someone snorted, and when Tony looked up in surprise he found Loki smirking down at him. Right, they'd been watching the movies. Or wanting to, really; Tony hadn't been sure how much Loki had seen of the first before he'd fallen asleep. Enough, apparently. Tony grinned at the god, who replied with a faint eye roll.

“This isn't magic”, Bruce distracted them from each other, crouching next to Tony and sounding stunned. It seemed that he had relaxed a little; at least he didn't smell as alarmed as earlier. “This is technology.”

“Magic _is_ technology”, Loki corrected. His smirk had vanished in reaction to Bruce approaching him like that, and Tony was close to telling his friend to back off a little. He bit down on the words.

“Anyway, it's cool”, he said instead. “What does it say?”

“Well, I don't know yet”, Loki drawled. “Write it down.”

Tony grabbed the pencil and piece of paper Bruce had given him and began to copy the runes. Loki angled his feet as needed while Bruce made a few corrections now and then when Tony overlooked something – a line more here, a circle there; hell, this was like _drawing._ It was goddamn complicated, too, because there were so many details. Tony didn't want to miss anything; he had the feeling that even the smallest things could be important.

“Dr. Banner?”

Both Bruce and Tony looked up at the god when he suddenly spoke up, but Tony hurried to concentrate on his task again. He didn't know what Loki wanted to speak about, but it would probably be better for them all if Tony pretended he wasn't even there.

“Yes?”, Bruce answered, hesitant.

“You believe that the restriction of my seidr hampers my...” Loki trailed off.

“Your heat?”, Bruce filled in. “Yeah. I mean, I don't know for sure, of course, but it's possible. Usually, humans go into their first heat quickly after presentation, or often already during it. Your heat still seems to be suppressed, though.”

“How do you know?”

“Your hormones are on a level that's comparable to that of an Omega who takes suppressants”, Bruce explained. He stood up, probably so he could meet Loki on eye level.

“You did another scan”, Loki said.

“Yes. Well, JARVIS did, but -”

“I don't want that”, Loki interrupted him. He nudged Tony's shoulder with his foot, almost making him jolt. “You will not do more of that without asking my permission first.”

Tony really wanted to point out that, technically, he hadn't had anything to do with those scans – it had all been Bruce and JARVIS, really. But, well, he was very much aware that he was the one who had the final say in this. And apparently Loki acknowledged that, too, so of course he was angry with _him_ now.

He'd mentioned that he wouldn't be able to care of an Omega, yes? If he didn't even manage to check that Loki consented with something like this, then how would it be with -

No, bad brain. He shouldn't think about things like that. Especially not when the plan was to free Loki from this damned shackle and give him his magic back. Because, if that plan worked, Tony was pretty sure that Loki would be gone in a few hours. No matter how  _stupid_ leaving the tower was; Loki was goddamn prideful. And when he left, then Tony would be -

“Sorry”, Tony said, hastily interrupting his own line of thought. “We didn't mean to, uh... Anyway, won't happen again. Promise. Right, Bruce?”

“Of course”, Bruce hurried to say. “Sorry.”

Loki scrutinized them both for a moment, but then he nodded. Tony suppressed a relieved sigh and returned his attention to copying the runes.

“Heats can be suppressed”, Loki broke the uncomfortable silence after a few minutes. Tony glanced up, but Loki was looking at Bruce, so he let the other scientist answer.

“Yes, they can. They're many suppressants on the market, some work better or just different than others. Pretty much is possible, from just hiding one's scent to repress heats or ruts altogether.”

“Like your agents do.”

“You mean SHIELD?”, Bruce said. “I wouldn't call them _our_ agents, but yes. I think most of them just got rid of their scents, though.”

“And Agent Romanoff?”, Loki asked. It seemed that Tony's vague answer hadn't been enough of an explanation for him.

Bruce hesitated. “I think that's not our secret to tell.”

Tony, however, sighed. “She's female. Nothing else. Not by birth, but the story behind it really isn't any of your business. She smells unnatural because it _is_ unnatural to be like that, for us humans.” He finished the rune he'd been working on and looked up at Loki. “Which means that it'd unnatural for you, too. It really sucks, so get that out of your head.”

Loki's eyes narrowed. “Out of my -”

“If you want to get rid of your scents and the heats, too, Natasha's way really isn't what I'd recommend.” He smirked at Loki, who smelled a little bit pissed by now, even though he didn't look it. “Suppressants are a possibility, though. If that's what you want?”

“Yes”, Loki said and looked away, his expression blank again. Yup, definitely pissed that Tony had managed to see through him like that.

“Bruce, what do you say?”, Tony asked.

“You should go through two or three heats first”, Bruce told Loki pensively. “But after that, I can't see anything speaking against suppressants. It could take a while until we find something that works for you, though; I've no idea how you'd react to our medication.”

“Two or three”, Loki repeated, looking at Bruce scornfully. “I would prefer to not have to suffer through a single one.”

Bruce sighed. “Look, I get that it sounds awful for you. But heats aren't half that bad, really.” He flushed a little. “They're actually kind of nice, when you have someone to, you know... Uh.” He scowled at Tony when he chuckled, and pushed up his glasses.

“Oh, and how would you know?”, Loki said with feigned sweetness in his voice.

Bruce frowned. After a pause he asked, “What do you think I am?”

Loki seemed taken aback. “What?”

“What do you think I _am_?”, Bruce repeated slowly. “You asked about the agents and Natasha, but not about me. So what do you think I am?”

“Uhm”, Tony, who really doubted that this was a good idea, spoke up again, but Bruce just waved him off. Loki didn't even seem to notice him anymore.

“I don't care what you are”, he snapped, “I do not care what any of you are. You don't get to tell me that _heats_ aren't _half that bad._ I refuse to be humiliated like that just because I am an _Omega_ and you are not.”

“Uhm”, Tony said again.

“I _am_ an Omega”, Bruce said at the same time, his nostrils flaring. His eyes were already tinted with green. “And _you_ don't get to -”

“Don't mock me”, Loki interrupted him sharply and stood up. He was towering over Bruce, as tall as he was, and the air around him seemed to flicker. “ _You_ are not an _Omega_.”

“Why, because I beat you?”, Bruce shot back. “You think that Omegas can't -”

“Okay, okay, okay”, Tony said, leaping to his feat and quickly moving to stand between them. “Time-out, boys, okay? That's enough. Bruce, take a few steps back, okay? Calm down, everything's fine. Loki, get your shit together and stop provoking him.”

“Provoking?”, Loki spat at him immediately. “ _He_ provo-”

“I said it's _enough_ ”, Tony snarled, his voice like steel, and Loki's mouth snapped shut. The god's eyes had widened a little and now he recoiled, avoiding Tony's glare.

His chin tilted upwards just the tiniest bit.

Tony let out a harsh breath and looked at Bruce, who had complied and taken a few steps back. His eyes were fixed on Loki, though, the green still clearly evident in them. But he did lift his hands and bare his throat when Tony glared him down.

“Sorry”, he offered, his voice quiet.

“Just don't hulk out now”, Tony replied. Bruce shook his head. “You sure?” Bruce nodded, and Tony sighed. “Good, great. Okay. Loki, you alright?”

Loki didn't reply; he was busy staring angrily into space.

Tony suppressed the urge to sigh again. Who was he, Steve? _Fuck._ This wasn't going well. He knew that this topic was a sore point for Bruce, just as it was for Loki, but he hadn't expected this to escalate quite that quickly. Bruce had himself under pretty good control, usually.

“Okay”, Tony said slowly. “So, I feel like we should have another conversation about Omegas and how things work on Earth. We all up for that?”

Nobody said anything, and Tony was starting to get nervous. He'd never been good at stuff like this. Loki still smelled angry, smelled _upset_ , and not for the first time Tony was glad that Bruce didn't smell like other Omegas. Still, his scent wasn't exactly reassuring at the moment, either.

“I wasn't mocking you”, Bruce said suddenly. Loki's eyes darted back to him. “I _am_ an Omega. Clint too, by the way. And Dr. Selvig.”

Loki stared at him for a long while. “Barton?”, he said then, voice dripping with suspicion. His eyes flickered to Tony.

He made sure to nod. “Yup. You didn't know that?”

Slowly, Loki shook his head. His most acute anger abated a little, just like Bruce's. He averted his eyes, frowning. “It does make sense, though.” His mouth twitched. “You smell like him. I didn't realize...” He trailed off, pressing his lips together.

That struck Bruce speechless for a moment. “Me?”, he said then. “I smell like him?”

“Yes.” Loki made a vague gesture. “You have the same... base note.”

“You can smell that I'm an Omega?”, Bruce asked, still staring at Loki with a dumbfounded expression.

“I just said that, didn't I?”, Loki snapped and crossed his arms.

Bruce blinked at him, lifting a hand to fiddle around with his glasses. “You... You must have a really good nose, then.”

Loki frowned.

“I can't”, Tony said by explanation, gesturing at Bruce when Loki looked at him. “Smell he's an Omega, I mean. He doesn't smell like one anymore, as far as I can tell.”

Loki returned his gaze to Bruce. “Because of your condition”, he said slowly.

“Yes.” Bruce lifted his shoulders. “Haven't had any heats since... well, that. But I know what it's like, the whole... being an Omega thing. I mean, it's sort of normal for me, or at least it was. I can't imagine how it's like for you. But I could try to help.”

“Help”, Loki scoffed. “Of course.”

“What did I say about provoking him?”, Tony said. Loki glared at him, causing Tony to add, “be nice, okay? Please. You hear that, I said please. We're really not trying to mock you or anything. Okay?”

Loki didn't reply, but after a moment he nodded. The air around him finally stopped flickering, and suddenly he didn't seem angry anymore – just goddamn exhausted. He turned around and sat on the table again, his knuckles turning white where he grasped the edge of the table.

“Maybe I should go”, Bruce said quietly.

“Bruce, no, you -”

“That would be better, yes”, Loki spoke over Tony, tone flat.

“Okay”, Bruce said and looked at Tony. He nodded after a moment, and a few seconds later Bruce already disappeared into the elevator.

Which meant that Tony was now alone with an obviously sad and probably still angry Loki, who Tony somehow needed to convince that being what he was wasn't a bad thing.

Fucking great, really.

 


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for all your comments and kudos! I'm so happy you're enjoying this story so far, and I love y'all for your support. <3

 

As a boy, it had been one of Loki's favorite pastimes to venture through the deep woods of Asgard. He'd always loved it there; the fresh air, leaves and soil beneath his feet, and the silence that was only broken by the sounds of birdsong and wind rustling through the treetops. He'd climbed on so many trees back then, spent so many hours reading or watching how animals went on with their lives beneath him, unaware of or maybe just indifferent to his presence. Over the years he had befriended many of them, to the point that birds came to greet him as soon as he appeared and foxes followed him wherever he went.

He had always loved it there, until the day he'd met the wolves.

Now, Loki sat on the table in Banner's lab and avoided looking at Stark. The hairs on his arms and neck stood on end. His hands hurt because he was clenching the edge of the table so hard, so he slowly loosened his grip and moved his fingers. He tried to ignore the scents that were lingering in the air, but it wasn't like he could simply choose to stop smelling something.

It was easy to tell how Stark was feeling. His smell told Loki everything he needed to know. The human was agitated; he was worried and nervous and somewhat angry, maybe even a little bit scared. It very nearly drove Loki mad. It made him want to apologize, to approach the smaller man and _wrap himself around him_. His skin positively itched with the urge to touch, to press his own body against Stark's and just _be_ like that for a while, close and... and safe. That would soothe both of their nerves; Loki was oddly, horrifyingly sure of that.

But he remembered how Stark had looked and sounded when he'd snarled at Loki earlier, and how Loki himself had _flinched_ in reaction.

He remembered staring into the curious eyes of the biggest wolf of the pack, and being so scared that he'd run and never come back.

He wanted to run now, too.

“Hey, are you okay?”

Loki looked back at Stark when he hesitantly spoke up, and found that he couldn't look away again. There was a sour taste in his mouth, and he didn't know whether that was because of anger or the sudden need to retch. He wanted to say something, to spit and scream at Stark because _how dare he_ , but he bit down on everything.

The concern in Stark's voice and eyes was sincere, Loki could see that.

“Can I come closer?”, Stark asked after a few more minutes of silence. “To finish the runes thing.”

Loki nodded, and Stark approached him again. He didn't look at him when he got down on his knees a second time, this time without complaining, and took up his pencil again. Loki stared at him and tried not to flinch when Stark reached out to reactivate the shackle. As far as Loki could see, the man was only half done with his copy.

Moment after moment passed, and Loki relaxed a little. Stark entire focus wasn't on him anymore and the agitation in his scent had faded a little, too. It didn't hurt that Banner was gone, either.

“I've never really enjoyed being an Alpha”, Stark said suddenly, his voice uncharacteristically quiet. “I mean, I'm not... exactly what an Alpha should be, if you care about all the cliches. Which I don't, because they're stupid.”

Loki stared at him for quite a while, but the man didn't continue. “Cliches?”

“Yeah.” Stark shrugged. “There's a ton of them, for every gender. Like, Alphas are six feet tall and built like tree trunks, and some say they're not that bright because the only thing they're good in is knocking up some Omegas. Most of the time they _are_ bright and brave and good leaders, though, while Omegas are weak and naive and can't care for themselves. Omegas belong at home, where they can cook and take care of the kids while their Alphas are out earning money and making fools of themselves in turf wars. Alphas are pack leaders, and they can do with Betas and Omegas whatever they want because Omegas want them to and Betas have no say in anything, anyway. Can you turn your foot a bit?”

Loki blinked, but complied after a moment. Stark still didn't look at him as he continued speaking.

“So, I won't say that none of these things are true. Because there are Alphas who are six feet tall and Omegas who are small and fragile, and then there's you and me. I know Alphas who are dumb as shit, and I know Alphas who are intelligent and damn good people, too. I've met Omegas who prefer to stay at home and then some who couldn't take care of a kid even when their life depended on it. I've heard of packs led by Betas or even Omegas, and of Alphas that do make fools of themselves in turf wars.”

Stark cursed and used the other end of his pencil to erase the lines he'd just drawn. “Bruce is one of the most intelligent people on the world. As far as I know he wasn't in a pack even before Big Green came into the picture, and I know that he's always been standing up for Omega rights. Because yeah, we had quite a few problems with that, and still have. They're some parts of the world where Omegas aren't treated better than breeding stock. Bruce always gets angry with people indicating that Omegas are worth less then Alphas or Betas, so I'd avoid things like that in his presence. He's pretty much the strongest person I know, and he's an Omega.”

The human snorted, and Loki could see that he was smirking. “Clint could kill me with his little finger, probably. He's got an Alpha and kids at home.” He hesitated before he added, “Phil Coulson was a Beta. Matching the stereotype, even; he was a very balanced guy. I don't know if you remember him.”

Loki swallowed. “I do.”

Stark nodded. A hint of anger had flared up in his scent, but his face and voice hid it well as he simply continued, “So, uh, I'm not exactly the right person to tell you this, because, like I said, I'm not... I don't – Anyway, what I mean to say is that... we're all just people, you know. Your gender doesn't define your character. It doesn't define _you._ It's just...well, your gender. Of course there's instincts, and Alphas need certain things and Betas need certain things and Omegas need certain things, but that's – I mean, not all are the same. Everyone's wired differently.”

Stark still wasn't looking at Loki. He kept his eyes fixed on either the cuff or the paper in front of him. His hand didn't stop working even while he rambled and stuttered, even though it was obvious that he didn't enjoy this conversation in the slightest.

“How are you wired?”, Loki asked eventually. He still hadn't fully processed Stark's words, but he quickly decided to that later, in the privacy of his floor, and to concentrate on other things, namely the human still kneeling at his feet, for now.

His question startled Stark into looking up. “What?”

“You said you do not enjoy being what you are”, Loki said. “Why not? Just because you are short?”

“I'm not short.”

“My neck hurts from looking down at you.”

“I'm kneeling on the floor!”

“Oh? Why, you really are. I almost didn't notice.”

“You are an asshole”, Stark announced, but he did so around a laugh – a laugh that was sincerely amused, and immediately served to soothe Loki's agitation.

“Well?”, he prompted when Stark still hadn't answered his question after a few minutes.

Stark sighed and only briefly glanced up from his work to which he had returned. “You know Steve, right?”

“Naturally.”

“I told you before that he isn't an Alpha by birth”, Stark said, his tone too light. “He was an Omega before they shot that serum into his veins. Now he's a scientific Alpha, sort of, but he's a good one. He's, like... a born pack leader. He takes care of his people. I'm not like that.”

Loki frowned. “Should I watch movies with Steve Rogers from now on, then?”

Stark looked at him for a moment, matching Loki's frown. “I'm done”, he said then, holding up the paper for Loki to take.

Loki sighed but took it, eyes sliding over the copy of the runes. Stark had done good and precise work, which shouldn't be as surprising as it was. It had taken him ages, after all. Loki stared at the runes that where so clearly his mother's handiwork, and swallowed down another flare of anger.

“I need a pen”, he said. “In a different color, preferably.”

He didn't look at the human as he was given one. Then, he pulled one leg up on the table and turned sideways until he could write comfortably.

“What are you doing?”, Stark asked. He'd sat down on the floor again, curiously, looking up at Loki with his legs spread out.

“Making you something new to copy.”

“Oh, great”, Stark said dryly.

Loki just gave an absentminded hum, already concentrating on the runes. They were complicated ones, deeply and firmly woven into each other in a way that made finding loopholes difficult, if not impossible. But Loki was still Loki, after all, and he didn't call himself the most skilled sorcerer in the Nine Realms for nothing. He had surpassed his mother's skills centuries ago. It was difficult, yes, but clearly not impossible to at least weaken her runes to an extent that would allow him to access his powers.

But first, he would try to break them completely.

It didn't take long to change the runes in the required way, at least not on the copy Stark had made. The real ones were a bit harder to handle and Loki wasn't quite sure if Stark was suited for that, but it wasn't like he had any other choices.

When Loki gave him the now altered copy back, Stark looked at the paper for a moment before shaking his head. “This can't possibly _mean_ anything.”

“I assure you, it does.”

Stark made a face. “Can't you do it yourself?”

“Certainly. It does make sense to bind someone's seidr and then allow them to alter the offending runes themselves.”

“Okay, that might have been a dumb question.”

“Yes, quite.”

Stark activated the shackle again. “So it doesn't accept your touch?”

“No.”

“You tried?”

“Naturally. It burned my hand.”

Stark's gaze snapped up, searching Loki's hands. “What? When? Why didn't you say anything?”

Loki frowned, but held up both of his hands for Stark to see. “It healed in a matter of minutes.”

“Oh.” Alarm and worry faded from Stark's eyes. “Okay. So, uh – what exactly do you need me to do?”

“Let it know that you want to work on the runes”, Loki said, “like this.”

He tapped another rhythm on the table, and Stark repeated it with ease. “You speak as if this thing has a mind of its own.”

“Magic always has a mind of its own.”

“I have millions of questions about that. What now?”

“You should be able to use the pen. The shackle will adapt to it.”

“Okay”, Stark said, sounding a bit dubious. He pulled the desk chair towards him and cued Loki to put his foot on it. “How likely is it that it won't let me do this?”

“Not unlikely.”

“How reassuring”, Stark muttered, but he took the pen and used it to change the first rune like Loki had done on the copy. “This feels like writing on paper.”

“As I said, it adapts to the pen.”

“Neat. And it's not burning me, that's a good sign, right?”

Loki nodded, even though he wasn't all too sure. The shackle could reject Stark and the changes he made at any given second, and Loki was somewhat certain that it _would_ reject him as soon as Stark would draw the runes that were meant to render Frigga's ineffective. It was worth a try, though, and watching Stark handle a device that was nearly brimming over with magic was fascinating. He did it without any problems, which was remarkable for a human. But, well, Loki already knew that Stark _himself_ was remarkable for a human, so he wasn't that surprised.

“You mentioned packs a few times”, he said casually, after watching Stark work had become boring.

Stark hummed affirmatively, eyes narrowed in concentration. “Most humans live in packs, yeah.”

“Like wolves?”

The human glanced up at him, maybe sensing Loki's unease at asking that questions. “Not exactly. I mean, it's a similar concept, hence the name, but not really the same.”

“What is your concept like, then?”

“Uh”, Stark made, pausing his work for a moment. “I'm no expert in that, to be honest. But I can – I can try to explain, I guess.”

“Yes, please.”

Stark smirked at him, but didn't hold his gaze longer for the split of a second. He smelled as if he was feeling uncomfortable, too. He still started explaining, though. “Usually, every human's first pack is the one they were born in”, he said. “Some stay there whole life, but that's kind of rare. Most find their first, uh, _own_ pack when they're around twenty-five or something. I know that, uh, system... well, that it's nothing you're familiar with, probably. It's sort of hard to explain, too; pack dynamics are hard to understand when you haven't... you know, experienced it yourself.”

He paused, looking up for Loki, but the god was just waiting for him to continue.

“I guess you could say that a pack is like a family”, Stark said slowly. “It should be, anyway. In most cases, a pack is lead by an Alpha. The other people are either Betas or Omegas, then; it's kind of rare that there are two or more Alphas in one pack. That's possible, though, just like some pack leaders are Betas or Omegas. Every pack is different, you know, just like everyone's wired differently. You just have to figure out what works for you. That's the reason why most people change packs a few times in their lives. Because it can take some time to, well, figure that out.”

Loki stared at him for quite a while. “You can choose your family”, he said then, unable to keep his disbelief out of his voice.

Stark shrugged. “In a sense, yes. In an ideal pack, everyone... I don't know how to say, everyone just _fits._ To each other. The members find support and acceptance, and, well, a home. They have a territory that's theirs to keep and to defend, a place where they belong. And they protect each other, of course. For most people, pack is... their first priority, you could say. The most important people in their life.”

“That sounds far too easy”, Loki said quietly, frowning as he thought Stark's words over.

At his feet, Stark snorted. “Yeah, I know. But I've heard from many people that it _is_ that easy, as soon as you've found the right people. However you're supposed to that, I've no idea.”

“Is there a hierarchy?”, Loki asked.

“In a pack?”, Stark said, then nodded. “Yeah, sort of. There's the pack leader – they're the one who keeps everything together. In bigger packs, there's often a, uhm, a second in command, basically. Then they navigate the pack together. But apart from that, everyone's pretty much equal.”

Loki put on a mocking smile. “Even the Omegas?”

“I said everyone, didn't I?”, Stark said, sounding more amused then annoyed. “A good pack leader makes sure that everyone's okay and safe, at any given time. The others in the pack come to them with their problems, and they try to solve them. And they also represent the pack to the outside; you know, if there are problems with other packs or something.”

“And they can do as they like with the members of their pack”, Loki added, which earned him a fierce look from Stark.

“No. They can't, and they shouldn't.” Stark said, putting down his pen for a moment to look up at Loki. “Look, there _are_ packs in which the leader has, like, the total power. I've met quite a few Alphas who treat 'their'”, Stark put the word in quotation marks, “Betas and Omegas however they want, just because they feel like they have the right to do that. Because yeah, pack members are likely to submit to their leader, that's how the whole thing works. But that doesn't mean they have to do whatever they say.”

“Earlier, you told me to stop arguing with Banner”, Loki said, voice dripping with bitterness that was only poorly cloaked as mockery. “I did.”

“Yeah.” Stark was fidgeting around with the pen, now obviously uncomfortable. “Sorry about that. I didn't mean to go all Alpha on you, I just... didn't want you to rip each other's heads off or something.” He looked at Loki, but he didn't say anything, so he added, “You're not expected to obey me or anything, Loki. We both know that. And I can't make you obey me, either. I'm certainly not dumb enough to try; do you know how expensive new windows are?” Stark waited for a reaction to his quip, but when none came, he sighed and looked back at the shackle. “Besides, I wouldn't even want that. Like I said, this whole”, he cleared his throat, “Alpha stuff isn't really it for me.”

“Is that why left the leadership of your pack to Rogers?”

Stark looked back at him at once. “What? No. We – you think Steve's the Alpha of the Avengers?”

“Well, yes”, Loki said. “You seem to be the only two Alphas on your team.”

“My team”, Stark interrupted, snorting. “No, Green Eyes, the Avengers aren't a pack. Never were, never will be.”

“Is it just you and Banner, then?”

“ _No_ ”, Stark said, a little bit more vehemently than necessary, and didn't meet Loki's eyes. “No, we're – Bruce and me, we're not a pack, either. He just – he lives here. Okay? And I'm packless. Have been packless pretty much my whole life.”

Loki blinked, then frowned. “What about your family? The pack you were born in?”

Stark was quiet for a moment, then he shrugged, still avoiding Loki's gaze. “Your first pack teaches you a lot, you know. And if your first pack sucks at teaching you things, if it teaches you nothing or all the wrong stuff, well. Then you just... avoid being in a pack altogether. I do that, anyway.”

That rendered Loki speechless. It was strange for him, after all, to recognize himself in someone else.

That hadn't ever happened before.

Stark didn't say anything after that, just continued to change the runes, and Loki sat there and watched him. He quickly forced himself not to think about Stark's last words, however; they were far too unsettling. And Loki didn't even know what to make of the rest Stark had said. He wasn't even sure if he had _understood_ everything. The concept Stark had described seemed alien and surreal to him, not like something that determined the lifestyle of a whole planet. He also was confused as to an Omega's place in that society. Stark had said that they were treated like _breeding stock_ in some places of this world, but he had sounded disgusted by the very words, so Loki assumed that it was different here. But when they were the ones to bear the children, did every Alpha had the right to breed the Omegas in their backs as they wished? As long as they consented? Loki knew that – often, but not always monogamous – marriage was a tradition on Midgard, too, but somehow that didn't seem to fit into the concept of packs.

He just wanted to ask about that when Stark all but _howled._ The sound of pain was immediately followed by a long and impressive tirade of curses. Loki, who had flinched and drawn his legs up on the table, was now staring down at Stark with wide eyes and a heart that was beating a little bit too quickly. The human was sitting hunched over on the floor, his right hand pressed against his chest. It didn't take long until he understood what had happened, and he couldn't ignore the pang of guilt he felt – a feeling that was only increased by Stark's scent, which had flared up with anger and distress.

“Stark?”, he asked hesitantly, not yet daring to join the human on the floor to see if he was alright. “Are you -”

“I'm fucking fine”, Stark spat, and Loki flinched again. “What the _hell_ was that?”

Loki swallowed thickly. “It seems that the runes don't take kindly to your trying to break them.”

“ _Sir, should I alert Dr. Banner?_ ”, JARVIS asked, his disembodied voice concerned.

“No, it's fine”, Stark said through gritted teeth. “Just a burn.”

“ _A third-degree one, Sir._ ” The AI sounded almost exasperated. “ _I'm sure Dr. Banner would -_ ”

“I said I'm fine, J”, Stark cut his servant off. He seemed to have calmed down a little. “Don't shit your nonexistent pants. Where does Bruce keep his first aid kit?”

He laboriously got on his feet, his hand still cradled against his chest. Loki could see the reddened and blistering skin, remembering that his own hand had looked pretty much the same when he had tried to touch the cuff. Stark's hand wouldn't heal as quickly as his, however. JARVIS guided him to a cabinet across the room, and Loki stayed where he was and warily watched as the human took care of his injury. He peeked down at his foot, too; noticing that every change Stark had made had already vanished again.

He didn't dare to offer his help.

When Stark eventually returned to him, his hand was bandaged. He didn't smell as agitated anymore, even though the remnants of his earlier distress still lingered in the air. And again, Loki wanted to apologize. That would be two times a day; he believed that was a new record.

And as if that on its own wasn't surprising enough, Loki also _said,_ “I'm sorry.”

“It's fine”, Stark said dismissively. “I've had worse. What now?”

Slowly, very slowly, Loki relaxed. “We could try to weaken the runes.”

“'Kay. Let's do that, then”, Stark said, handing Loki the copy he'd made earlier.

His gaze flickered between the paper in his hands and Stark's hand for a moment before returning to the human's face. “Maybe it would be best to wait until -”

“I'm fine”, Stark insisted. He sat down at Loki's feet again. “I can use my left hand, works just as well.”

After another moment of hesitation, Loki gave in and began to work on the runes again. These changes would be much easier to make, and he'd found a loophole that should allow them without problems. When he was done, Stark accepted the paper without a word and picked up his pen again. He worked quickly and silently, and Loki didn't try to speak to him. He could still feel tension radiating off Stark in waves, and he couldn't help but be wary of that.

(Even though a part of him was rather adamant in his belief that Stark was the very opposite of a threat to him.)

This time, it worked.

When his magic came back to him, into his reach, Loki felt like he might burst. He hadn't been in full control of his powers for so long – and he still wasn't, not fully. The runes that were now engraved in his shackle had only lowered the amount of energy he had to muster for a spell to an acceptable point; had made the barrier his mother had built low enough for him to climb over. That meant he still wasn't able to perform more complicated magic, but it was _something._ With his seidr finally flowing through his veins again, he felt a little more alive, a little more real, a little more himself. He could feel it tingling in his fingertips, and he ached to use it.

And so he smiled at Stark, actually smiled at him, and held out his hand. “Give me your hand.”

Stark, who had stood up by now and watched Loki carefully, glanced between Loki's eyes and his hand rather suspiciously. “Why?”

“To heal your injury.”

“Uh, no. Thanks. Not necessary. Not when you're smiling like that.”

Loki let his smile fade into a serious expression. “I just want to heal your hand. I'll do nothing else.”

“Okay, look, that's really kind, but – _OW_!”

Loki, who had simply leaned forward and grabbed Stark's injured hand, rolled his eyes and ignored the human's whining. It stopped soon enough, anyway; and by the time the burn was healed Stark was staring at their hands in something akin to awe. Loki smirked at him and let go of his hand, then watched as Stark slowly took off the bandage, brown eyes flickering back to Loki's every so often.

“Oh”, he made, turning his hand in every possible reaction. The skin was good as new, albeit a little rosier than usual. “Thank you.”

“You're welcome”, Loki said kindly, and then he called upon his magic and cloaked himself in invisibility.

He very nearly laughed when he saw Stark's expression, but managed to bite down on it in the last moment. Keeping himself invisible was already demanding more energy that it should, probably more due his lack of practice rather than the runes. He had wanted to see Stark's stunned face, though, and since teleporting was still too exhausting, invisibility had been the best alternative.

Leaving Stark where he was, Loki headed off to the elevators, wondering if his reservoir of magic would be enough to bring him back to his floor unnoticed. But before he could disappear, Stark's quiet voice made him still.

“Is he gone?”

“ _I'm not sure, Sir_ ”, JARVIS answered. “ _I can't detect him anywhere in the tower._ ”

“Great”, Stark said flatly. He sank into the nearest chair. “The plan worked then, huh?”

“ _I would advise you to wait a few hours. Maybe he'll return._ ”

“Yeah, no. Don't think so.” Stark's hand came up to rub his face. “I scared him off.”

“ _I don't believe someone like him can be scared off_ ”, JARVIS said, almost consolingly. “ _But I agree that telling him that you would like him to stay would have been -_ ”

“What the fuck, J? I don't want him to stay.”

“ _If you say so, Sir._ ”

The conversation seemed to be over, then, and soon Stark passed Loki on the way to the elevators. He didn't notice him, of course he didn't, and then he was gone.

Loki stayed where he was for a very long time.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (It was only mentioned on the side in this, but I'm in love with the idea of an ambidextrous Tony. Sort of stole that from Meow_san, by the way. I hope you don't mind. xD)


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> God, this chapter is a long one. I promise it's the last one with these endless conversations about how this A/B/O universe even works. xD I hope that's not too boring.
> 
> Please enjoy!

 

When Loki's voice came over the speakers, Tony very nearly had a heart attack. He was in his workshop – had been in his workshop for almost four days now and was still not willing to leave it any time soon – and had made sure that he wouldn't be disturbed, but _apparently_ the resident God of Disturbances didn't care about that.

“ _Stark, what are you doing?”_

Tony flinched and jolted up, which wouldn't have been that much a problem if he hadn't just been lying beneath a car. And so he didn't actually have a heart attack, but at least a headache and a bump. He hissed and spat some curses, all the while trying to creep out from under the car again without hitting his head again.

When he eventually stopped grouching, Loki's bored voice spoke up again. “ _Are you done?_ ”

“Am I _done_?”, Tony repeated, sitting on his ass on the ground and rubbing his forehead. “Yeah, I'm fucking done. What the hell, Loki? Where are you?”

“ _Wherever should I be?_ ”

“Uh, I don't know? You literally vanished into thin air four days ago!”

“ _I didn't_ vanish”, Loki said, and Tony was certain the mage was rolling his eyes at him. “ _And I am on my floor, as always._ ”

“No, you're not.”

“ _Yes, I am._ ”

“Loki, don't bullshit me. You're not in the tower anymore.”

“ _That your devices are unable to detect me does not mean I'm gone_ ”, Loki replied, sounding far too smug for Tony's taste.

Tony blinked, but he needed only a moment to understand what Loki was telling him. “Fucking magic.”

“ _Is certainly possible, but nothing I would recommend._ ”

“Shut up. And don't use magic to mess with JARVIS' system, that's rude.”

“ _My sincerest apologies_ ”, Loki drawled, “ _but he wouldn't let me speak to you._ ”

“Well, yeah, because I wanted to be left alone.”

There was a long pause, and Tony halfway thought he'd gotten Loki to leave him be, but of course it wasn't that easy.

“ _I'm bored, Stark._ ”

“So? What do you want me to do about it? I'm busy.” Tony shooed away Dum-E who had come to see if he was alright, whirring worriedly, and got under the car again.

“ _You have been busy for five days._ ”

Tony didn't answer. Instead, he grabbed his tool and set to work again, only to be interrupted by Loki once more.

“ _So I really have to watch movies with the Captain from now on, then?_ ”

Tony stilled at the new and definitely odd tone that had found its way into Loki's voice. “You want to watch movies with me.”

“ _I would like to continue the saga we started, yes._ ”

“And you can't do that alone.”

“ _I could._ ”

“But?”

“ _I don't want to._ ”

Tony stared at the underside of his car. He knew what Loki was doing here, and it pissed him off that all the Omega had to do was sound a bit gloomy and accusing to make Tony at least consider leaving his shop for him. And there was also the fact that Loki was _still there_ , which was pretty much the opposite of what Tony had wanted. The most annoying thing about that was that Tony couldn't bring himself to _not_ be happy about that.

“Damn”, he muttered, dropping his tool again.

“ _Pardon?_ ”

“I'll be there in ten minutes.” Under his breath, Tony added, “manipulative shit.”

Loki didn't say anything else, but Tony swore he could feel the smugness in the silence that followed. He waved off JARVIS' apology about not being able to keep Loki out of Tony's hair and moved to stand up. He made a stop at the bathroom in his workshop to get a bit of motor oil off his face and hands, and then he rode up to Loki's floor to find out why the god wanted to see him and, most of all, why he even was still in the tower.

As soon as he entered the god's living room, he wanted to turn around and run away as far as fucking possible.

Loki was on the sofa, leaning against the armrest with his long legs lazily stretched out in front of him. He looked up from his book when he noticed Tony, and judging by the smirk tugging at his lips he was terribly amused by something. Tony didn't pay attention to that, though, too distracted and shocked by his own body's reaction, and only when Loki's smirk vanished as quickly as it had appeared, he managed to pull himself together and open his mouth.

“Okay, God of Attention-Seeking, I'm here. What do you want?”

“I told you already”, Loki said. He scrutinized Tony, a confused expression hushing over his face before he smoothed it out again.

“C'mon, you didn't go all Omega on me just because you need a movie buddy.”

The innocence on Loki's face was the most ridiculous thing Tony had ever seen. “I really have no idea what you're implying, I'm afraid.”

“I'm not implying anything”, Tony said. “I'm outright telling you that your manipulating skills have seen better days.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. But it wasn't that bad for a first try, I guess. Whine a little next time, then I might not even notice you're trying to pull on my Alpha strings.”

Dropping the act, Loki shrugged. “I think I pulled on those strings well enough. You came, after all.”

Trying his very best not to glare at Loki, Tony averted his eyes. “Fine. And now?”

Loki sighed and closed his book, setting it aside before he stood up. “Well, I will watch that preposterous movie now. If you want to join me, feel free to do so.”

Tony watched as Loki made his way to the kitchen, probably to make tea. Usually, it would be Tony who made tea for Loki and coffee for himself, but apparently Loki had caught that Tony wasn't about to do so now. In fact, Tony was reluctant to take even one more step further into the room. He was still lingering in the entrance, knowing that it would be the best for both of them if he just took his leave already.

He didn't leave, though. He just stayed where he was and watched Loki rummaging around in the kitchen, thinking that it should be made a crime to look that good in just sweatpants and a t-shirt. And the shirt wasn't even that tight, goddammit. But yeah, if Loki managed to pull that absurd horned helmet off, _of course_ he was also able to look damned fine in clothes like this, too. _Freaking gods._

The looks were only half as bad as the scent, really. But they weren't helping Tony's case, either.

“Are you done staring?”

Immediately, Tony yanked his eyes away from the bit of pale skin visible above the waistband of Loki's pants. He found Loki frowning at him from across the room, two steaming cups already in his hands. Tony felt heat rise into his cheeks, and he really hoped that Loki would believe it to be embarrassment rather than what it actually was.

“Sorry”, he said, knowing that this would be a good time to explain and then excuse himself. But he didn't say anything else; the words just refused to pass his lips.

Loki was still frowning when he walked over to the sofa and put the two cups on the table. Tony could see tension in his shoulders, hell, in his whole body. No wonder, really; Tony was behaving like a goddamn Alpha Asshole here. But he just didn't manage to stop his brain from jumping right into the gutter, and Loki's smell was _not helping._

It was all over the room. Of course it was, this was Loki's goddamn floor. And even though Tony had known pretty much from the start that Loki's scent was one of the nicest – if not the nicest – he'd ever smelled, he had not been prepared for _this._ He suspected that it was partly his own fault, since letting Loki access his magic again had apparently done wonders for the god's wellbeing. For the first time since the invasion, Loki smelled healthy. There was a hint of exhaustion, yes, but he didn't smell sick anymore. And his pheromones seemed to be in full working order by now, too, and all in all it was enough to drive Tony mad.

That wasn't only Loki's fault, of course. Fuck, it wasn't Loki's fault _at all._ Tony assumed that, in just a few days, Loki's smell wouldn't affect him half as much as it did now. He was all too familiar with the heat pooling in his belly, with the way his skin began to tingle all over, even though he hadn't felt that since – god, he couldn't even remember.

He had forgotten how it was like, being near to an Omega in the beginning of a rut.

_Fuck._

The sound of a yawn made him snap out of his thoughts (and his panic). He noticed that Loki was sitting on the sofa again. He'd apparently decided to ignore Tony, because the movie was already playing. Tony couldn't do anything but stare at Loki as he yawned, and all at once that hint of exhaustion in the god's scent actually _meant_ something.

“You're tired”, he said over the sound of _Concerning Hobbits,_ sounding stunned. Loki glanced at him, but didn't say anything. Tony's arousal mixed with shame, suddenly, and he forced himself to cross the room himself.

He was the shittiest Alpha of shitty Alphas, apparently. Because of course Loki didn't just want to watch Lord of the Rings with him – why should he want that? –, of course he'd wanted Tony to be there out of the same reason he always wanted Tony to be there. And that reason being that he didn't actually want Tony there, but that he _needed_ him to fucking fall asleep.

And Tony had been busy for five days, after all. Hiding in his workshop to distract himself from his own damned _sadness_ over the not even true fact that Loki had left. And even though he knew that Loki could go much longer without sleep if needed, he still felt as if he had let Loki down.

When he sat down on the sofa, as far away from the god as possible, Tony realized that Loki's scent was even better from up close. He ignored it.

Okay, well, he _tried_ to ignore it – he couldn't actually keep his head from going dizzy with it. He couldn't keep his eyes from checking the god out, either, and so he had to drag them away from a different part of Loki's body about every three seconds. Loki had gained a bit of weight in the last weeks, thank god, but while his bare arms made it very easy to see that he was strong, his body was still lithe. The shirt left enough of Loki's collar bone and neck exposed for Tony to stare at, and he only just managed to resist the urge to reach out and touch. Loki's black hair, looking thick and silky now that it was washed regularly, curled against his shoulders in a way that made Tony want to run his fingers through it, if only to tug at it a little to reveal more of Loki's throat.

He wondered if the god would let that happen, wondered how his usually so composed face would look like when he was all flushed and needy, and what sounds he would make when Tony -

Tony cleared his throat, causing Loki to give him a slightly irritated look.

This was so not good.

Tony shifted uncomfortably, wondering if it would make things better or worse if he grabbed a pillow to strategically place it over his lap. He pulled his legs up instead and forced his eyes to stay on the screen instead of sneaking glances at Loki whenever they could.

Mostly to distract himself, Tony asked, “so you... you still need... you know, to sleep?”

“I still need to sleep, yes.”

Tony rolled his eyes. “You know what I meant.”

Loki threw a glare in his direction before his eyes quickly fixed on the screen again. He shifted a little, obviously uncomfortable. Tony already believed that he wouldn't get an answer when Loki said, “I can doze a little without an _Alpha's_ scent near by _,_ but not more. I had hoped that would pass.”

“I'm sure it will”, Tony said, also avoiding to look at Loki. “Maybe you just – I don't know, need to get through your first cycle or something? That's what I was told in puberty, anyway. That everything gets a little bit more balanced after that.”

The only response Loki gave was a noncommittal hum. He didn't look away from the screen even once, but one glance at him was enough to tell Tony that Loki wasn't even watching the movie. The tension hadn't left the mage's body, either, and Tony began wondering if Loki could even fall asleep like this. He tried to relax himself, finding that it really wasn't possible. He was starting to get too hot, and the only thing he could think of was how much he wanted to get closer to Loki. Because, really, sitting on the same couch with two feet between them was not only ridiculous, but also _torture._

“You smell a little odd”, Loki said suddenly, still not looking at him.

“Sorry”, Tony repeated, feeling himself go even more rigid. “I can go. Do you want me to go?”

“No”, Loki said. It sounded as if he hadn't even needed to think about it, and it caused Tony to turn his head and stare at him. He could see Loki's mouth twitch in something that could either be amusement or frustration, Tony really couldn't say. “It is... alright.”

_Alright._

Because of course Loki liked Tony's smell right now. Every Omega liked their Alpha's smell when they were rutting. The thought almost made Tony relax, but then he remembered that _fucking no_ , Loki still wasn't his Omega. He didn't even know why he kept thinking that, they hadn't even slept with each other, for god's sake.

Not yet, at least.

 _Bad brain_ , Tony thought firmly, trying to concentrate on the movie. _Bad, bad, bad._

“Why are we watching the first one again?”, Tony asked.. He hoped he didn't sound as hysteric as he felt.

“Because I fell asleep after twenty minutes the first time”, Loki answered.

He leaned forward to take the two still waiting cups, and before he knew it, Tony was being handed one of them. He didn't even have the time to actually freak out about that, but he still had to tell himself that it was only tea. And also, Loki had handed him things before, now that he thought about it.

God, he was fucked.

Here he was, about to go into a honest to god _rut_ even though he'd started taking self-made – and therefore impeccable – suppressants at twenty-six. There was an _Omega_ next to him. Rut and Omega, that was the worst possible combination like now, no matter how hard his body tried to convince Tony that it was the only thing he wanted and needed at this very moment.

That this Omega happened to be Loki was not helping. Loki, with his sharp smiles and clear green eyes, who called Lord of the Rings _preposterous_ even though he liked it, and who had made tea for both of them. Tea that Tony was drinking, even though he didn't even like tea. And even though he knew that he should have left already, if only for Loki's sake, he also knew that he would stay and watch movies with this Omega who smelled far too nice for his own good. Just because Loki had said _no_ when Tony had asked if he should leave.

When Loki eventually fell asleep, Tony threw a blanket over him before he left.

 

xxx

 

When Loki woke up after almost six hours, he wasn't particularly surprised about being alone. It happened only rarely that Stark stayed while Loki slept, unless he fell asleep himself. And given how tense the human had seemed earlier, it was no wonder that he wasn't here anymore.

His smell was still in the air, however. And even now, rested and with his magic humming beneath his skin again, Loki still wasn't sure what to make of it. He couldn't comprehend how a person could ever smell like comfort, like _safety_ , but if he had to match a scent to those words... Well. Tony Stark's came close. And that unfamiliar note Loki had smelled from the moment Stark had entered his floor earlier was just as disconcerting as it was intoxicating. He hadn't known what it was until he had seen Stark from up close – had actually seen the look in his eyes, his flushed face. Loki could spot signs of arousal, of _need_ well enough. Stark had never smelled like that before, had never even hinted at being... interested _._ Apart from that, it struck Loki as more than a little odd that there hadn't been a single comment about him still being in the tower. For that, he'd been prepared, also for suspicion against his magic, but not for this blatant _want_ Stark hadn't managed to hide.

The worst thing was, even now Loki found himself reacting, although Stark wasn't even on the same floor anymore. The remnants of his smell were only faint, but still enough to make the room seem a little bit too hot for Loki's tastes. He didn't know what to make of that, either.

But, as so often, his first impulse was to be irritated.

He spent the next week on his floor, pondering and scowling to himself while Stark's scent started to fade. As always, only a bit of it remained, just enough to know that the man came by now and then. It still felt like that wasn't _enough_ , but Loki had long grown used to that, so it didn't annoy him as much as it had in the beginning. He hoped that what Stark had said was true, and that this pathetic _neediness_ would cease once he made it through his first 'cycle'. Thinking of those heats still made his skin crawl, but if he needed to endure one or two to regain his freedom, well. He had survived far worse things.

He managed to slumber a little, now and then, but without Stark's comforting scent nearby it was difficult to actually sleep. But that still infuriated Loki, and he was also too proud to be the first one to reach out two times in a row, so he simply waited for Stark to visit on his own accord. Loki did use a simple spell to determine the human's whereabouts, though, and both times he did that he found that Stark wasn't even in the tower. He couldn't stay what had gotten into the inventor all of a sudden, but he assumed the man was still in denial over the fact that he wanted Loki to stay.

Which was an impossible and ridiculous thought on its own, of course. But that didn't keep it from being true, apparently, if the conversation Loki had _accidentally_ overheard was anything to go by. Loki couldn't say why Stark wanted him to stay, if it was only because of instincts – norns, how Loki had come to hate that word – or if Stark hoped to gain something out of this, despite his claims otherwise. Maybe he wanted Loki to stay because he wanted to keep an eye on him and make sure he didn't try to invade his tiny planet again. But then, why trying to manipulate him into leaving?

Loki had always been good at reading people. That was one of his most important skills; you couldn't manipulate someone if you didn't know how they worked. But Stark?

Stark was somewhat of a mystery.

Loki couldn't say what he wanted or if he was planning something. The only thing he was sure of was that Stark wanted him, or that he _had_ wanted him, on that particular day. Loki wasn't actually bothered by the human being attracted to him; if nothing else, he might be able to make it work in his favour. Affecting Stark with a little bit of lamenting had worked well enough. A part of Loki had expected the man to come back sooner than usual, but apparently, Stark preferred to stay away completely now.

It frustrated Loki without end, and at the same time he found himself being fascinated, which spurred his irritation even more. He couldn't stop thinking about the man – about how he'd sounded when he had snarled at him in Banner's lab, about how he'd looked while working on the shackle, about how he would smirk at something in whatever movie they were watching, in a certain way that told Loki he wanted to make a probably snarky remark but was holding back. Holding back, because Loki had asked him to be silent, months ago.

Before they had altered the runes on the cuff, Stark had shown up at Loki's floor every two or three days, and he knew he'd done that to make sure Loki slept at least somewhat regularly. He had also made Loki eat something, having JARVIS order dinner or even cooking something himself. On the rare occasions he did the latter, Loki had always stayed on the sofa, then, pretending to read while watching Stark out of the corner of his eye. They had never exchanged more than a few words, but that hadn't even been necessary. In hindsight, Loki was aware that he'd felt comfortable in Stark's presence, and that he'd started to look forward to his visits.

Which meant that he missed them, now that they had stopped.

Which meant that, when JARVIS asked if he would be alright with company, Loki agreed without even thinking about it.

He came to regret that five minutes later, when it wasn't Stark entering his floor, but Bruce Banner.

It was late in the morning, and Loki had just finished eating something for breakfast. He was still sitting at the kitchen counter, halfway engrossed in a book he'd found in his very well stocked library. He was still pondering whether he should ignore Stark or make some teasing comments when he noted that the person visiting him didn't smell like Stark and therefore _wasn't_ Stark. As soon as he recognized the scent, he tensed and turned around to where Banner was standing in the entrance of the living room, shuffling on his feet in that awkward way of his. He was carrying a box under his arm and raised his free hand in a half wave when their eyes locked.

“Hey”, he greeted Loki, his voice hesitant but calm. “I, uh... Tony asked me to make sure you're alright, so...”

Loki blinked. “I am.”

“Yes, I can – see that. Uhm.” The scientist cleared his throat. “If you don't want me here, that's fine, but actually I'd like to speak to you?”

That sounded more like a question than anything else, and Loki had the feeling that he wouldn't enjoy whatever conversation Banner wanted to have that much. “About what?”

“Tony”, Banner answered, carefully walking into the room a little further. “Mostly, anyway. He'll be away for another week or so. He'd like me to tell you why, just in case you're... you know, worried.”

“Why would I be worried?”

At that, Banner smirked. “Just a thought.”

Loki frowned at him, his eyes flickering to the box Banner had brought. “And what is that?”

“Er.” The human glanced at the box, shrugging. “A few games. I thought that'd be less awkward than just... talking.”

“Games”, Loki repeated dryly.

Banner sighed. “I can go if you want.”

“No”, Loki said, standing up to put the dishes from breakfast into the sink.

He found himself briefly wondering if he should offer Banner anything, but quickly decided against it. He sat down on one of the bar stools again, and after a moment of hesitation Banner crossed the room to join him.

Silence followed.

“So”, Banner said eventually. He'd put his box on the table and opened it now, pushing it toward Loki so he could peek into it. “I've no idea what's in this, actually, I just found the box on the common floor. I think Tony got it when he made this into Avengers Tower.”

Glancing up at Banner, Loki reached into the box to take a closer look at the play boards and various figures it entailed. “It looks very new.”

“I think no one's played with it before.”

Loki hummed and took one of the boards out of the box. “This looks like a game we have on Asgard.”

“We call it Backgammon”, Banner explained, grabbing a small bag with black and white plates. “Do you want to play?”

Loki found that he wasn't as reluctant as he should be. The part of him that wanted to send Banner away again was only small, outclassed by his desire to know what was the matter with Stark. And so he nodded, causing Banner to make a relieved face as he started to arrange the game. He explained the rules with quick and precise words, Loki nodding along as he indeed recognized the similarities to the game he used to play with Thor as children. Thor had never understood it, let alone enjoyed it.

They played in strained, but not completely uncomfortable silence for a while, until Loki asked, “where is he?”

“I'm not sure, actually”, Banner responded calmly. “I think he flew over to Malibu – that's on the other side of the country, basically. He's got a house there.”

“Why?”

A light flush began creeping up Banner's throat, slowly coloring his cheeks. “He's rutting.”

_Oh._

Loki couldn't say whether it was disappointment or relief that he felt, but either way, he hid his reaction and made his next draw. “That is the equivalent of a heat, yes?”

“Yes, exactly.”

“You said Alphas... _rut_ every four weeks”, Loki said, remembering what Banner had explained a few weeks ago.

“Most do, yes. Tony is taking suppressants, though. They are meant to repress his ruts, but they kind of failed last week.”

“Do you know why?”, Loki asked, carefully keep his eyes on the board between them.

“Because of you, I imagine.”

Loki looked up to glare at the man. “I did not do anything.”

“No no, I know”, Banner hurried to say, meeting Loki's eyes. “Just – your scent has gotten pretty... heavy. I think it has something to do with your magic, because you're really starting to recover now.” Loki just continued staring at him, and after a moment Banner cleared his throat. “Look, ruts can be triggered roughly every four weeks. But for that, there has to be an Omega near. Tony's suppressants raised the amount of pheromones he needed to be, well, confronted with to go into a rut. No human Omega usually has a level of pheromones that's high enough. You're not human, though.”

Loki deflated a little. “I see.”

Banner nodded. “It seems that you're emitting just enough for the suppressants to stop working. It was really good timing, actually – or bad timing, I guess. Tony's body was ready to go into a rut, the scent of an attractive Omega was what triggered it.”

Stumbling over a certain word, Loki looked at the human in surprise. “Attraction plays into it?”

Banner smirked again, telling Loki that he hadn't let that information slip on accident. “Oh, yes.”

Unsure what to think about that, Loki said nothing for quite a while. Banner won the first game they played, and they started a new one without exchanging a single word.

“I'm sorry”, Banner eventually broke the silence, “for getting angry. In my lab, I mean.”

Hiding his surprise, Loki shook his head. He didn't meet the man's eyes. “I insulted a part of you that you cannot change”, he said. “Everyone would have been angry.”

“You didn't know that much about Omegas, though.”

“I still do not know much about them.”

Banner hummed. “You should know that being an Omega doesn't make you weak, or helpless. Reacting to Tony like that when he shouted at you, that was normal and instinctive, but that doesn't mean you'll submit to every Alpha you meet.”

Loki narrowed his eyes. “Did he speak to you?”

Smiling, Banner shook his head. “No. Not about that, at least. I just thought you might have been bothered by that.”

“He didn't have any right to speak to me like that”, Loki said, aware that he sounded a bit stiff.

“He just wanted to keep us from fighting.” Banner paused, then lifted his shoulders. “I would have won that fight. He was worried.”

“I am perfectly able to defend myself”, Loki snapped immediately.

Banner didn't seem particularly impressed, he just smirked while making his next draw. “Still, no need to take any risks. Also, I'm fond of my lab. It's good Tony intervened.”

“I wonder what he tried to protect”, Loki said dryly, having stifled his anger. “Your lab, you, or me.”

Banner laughed a little. “All of us, probably. Though only the lab really needs his protection, I think.”

Despite himself, Loki smirked. “Well, you and me could easily best him in a fight.”

“Maybe, yes. But in his suit, Tony is pretty strong.”

Loki didn't say anything, but he silently agreed. He had seen Stark fight, after all. He had stood his ground against Thor, even. But without his suit... Loki frowned.

“Do you think he would spar with me?”, he asked before he could hold himself back.

Banner immediately seemed a bit wary, pausing in the middle of moving his plates on the game board. “Why?”

“Why not?”, Loki retorted.

Banner looked at him for a moment longer, but then he returned his attention to their game. “Well, Tony's never been one to step down from a challenge. Just ask him when he gets back.”

“Oh, I will.”

Banner chuckled, and for a few minutes they were silent. “You're feeling better, aren't you?”, the human asked then. When Loki only briefly looked at him, he added, “I mean, you don't smell that... unbalanced anymore.”

That made sense, Loki found; not being able to access his magic had disturbed both his body and his mind, so that had probably hindered him from actually completing his _presentation._ He didn't speak to Banner about that, however.

“Is that not considered rude?”, he asked instead.

“Hm?”

“Addressing other people's smells like you just did.”

“Oh.” Banner pushed up a glasses; something he did when he felt uncomfortable, Loki assumed. “Well, yes. A little. It's pretty normal between pack members, but – I'm sorry, I meant no offence.”

Loki looked at him for a moment before concentrating on the game board again. “Are you in a pack, Dr. Banner?”

“Why do you ask?”

“I am interested.”

“I'm not here to play mind games with you”, Banner said simply. When he was confronted with a mild glare for that, he just calmly returned Loki's gaze. For a moment, at least; eventually he shrugged, his eyes returning to their game of Backgammon. “I know Tony told you that we're not a pack, so that's not what you really want to know. So, if you want to know something else, just ask.”

Loki raised a brow. “Maybe I would just like to hear your view of it.”

“Maybe I'm not interested in sharing it”, Banner countered, smirking.

“Fine, then”, Loki said, maybe a little bit snidely. “I did have a question the other day.”

“Yes?”

“Stark mentioned something about Omegas being treated like breeding stock”, Loki said casually and watched as a hint of green flared up in Banner's eyes, just like he expected. It disappeared again in the split of a second, though, and Banner was still smirking.

There was something almost eerie about this human, Loki found; no matter how calm and friendly he acted most of the time. Maybe it was just the memory of his spine being broken that had Loki suppress a shudder.

“I'm sure he also told you that even though that might be the case in some other places of our world, it's illegal in most countries”, the scientist said, matching Loki's casual tone, “and that you certainly won't be treated like that.

Loki snorted. “If Stark ever tries to offend me like that, I will make him regret being born.”

“Yeah, he's aware of that”, Banner replied. “And also he'd never do something like that. That's why he is in Malibu, you know. He didn't want to make you uncomfortable.”

Loki sneered at that, but swallowed every acid comment down. It was ridiculous; Stark having to fly to the other side of the country because he apparently feared that he was not able to control himself. To Loki, it seemed that humans weren't that much better than animals, and he briefly remembered the brief discussion he and Stark had had about that when they had talked in the cell. _We have bodies_ , Stark had said, _and these bodies work a certain way, and there's nothing we can do about that._

He wondered how his own heat would be like, and, as always, the thought made him sick.

“And what is he doing right now?”, Loki asked, unable to keep the sour tone out of his voice. “He isn't in a pack, after all.”

Banner shrugged. He was blushing again. “I imagine he found himself some company.”

Furrowing his brow, Loki looked at the human. “But he has no Omegas of his own, does he?”

“First of all, no one has Omegas _of one's own_ ”, Banner answered, sighing softly. “People don't belong to other people, okay? Didn't Tony explain how packs work?”

“Yes”, Loki said, still frowning. “But I also know that Omegas bear the children while Alphas sire them.”

“That's the gist of it. I mean, technically Betas can also sire children, and male Omegas, too, sometimes, but in most cases it's an Alpha, yes.”

“Stark said that there is only one Alpha in every pack”, Loki said, caring only little for Banner's further explanations at the moment.

“Yes, mostly”, Banner said slowly. He seemed a little bit confused, but after a moment of looking at Loki's scowling face he seemed to understand. “God, Loki, _no._ ”

Loki just stared at him, watching as the scientist's face became even redder.

“A good pack isn't like that, okay? I mean, the Alpha doesn't just go around and, uh, sleeps with all the Omegas in his family. That's – just, _no._ That's not how it works.”

“How does it work, then?”

Banner lifted his glasses to rub his eyes, seeming a bit exasperated. “Not that different to what you know from Asgard, I guess. People fall in love, people marry. People have children. People have children without being in love or married, too. People find other people and become a pack, which doesn't stop anyone from being together or even having children with someone from _another_ pack.” Banner paused, apparently thinking, and after a moment he continued, “I mean, sure, that's the ideal. There are abusive packs, too, with Alphas who treat their pack members as if they are their harem. But that's not the core of it. In a well-functioning pack, the relationships between the members aren't sexual unless everyone consents. That's the ground rule, okay? Consent.”

Loki had listened, his jaw clenched and his eyes narrowed. Now, he asked, “and how can people consent if they are in _heat_?”

A little bit helplessly, Banner lifted his shoulders. “They can't. Sleeping with someone when they are either rutting or in heat and haven't consented before is considered rape. It's a crime.”

Loki raised his brows. “So Stark is probably being raped at the moment.”

“Okay, besides the fact that it's really none of our business what Tony's doing or not doing right now, there are places both Alphas and Omegas can go to meet people who, well, who help them. I'm sure Tony found a consenting partner who's at least eighteen, and I'm also sure they're using condoms.”

The words had left Banner's mouth in a rush, and now he shook his head and cleared his throat.

“So, uh. Do you want to play a different game, or something?”

Loki nodded absently, too lost in his own thoughts. Because, even though it might be none of his business, Loki still wondered what exactly Stark was doing now. And, to his surprise and mild horror, his first thought was not _he is with someone_ but _he is with someone else._

It was odd, wasn't it, how much of a difference a single word could make.

 

 


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How is this the tenth chapter? Remember that I planned on this being five chapters long in the beginning? Obviously, I suck at following through with plans like that. xD 
> 
> Enjoy!

Loki was already in the training area when Stark appeared, carrying a metal suitcase and a smile. Loki had turned away from the training equipment he'd been inspecting as soon as he had heard the human's steps, and now watched as Stark approached him.

“Hey, Rudolph”, the engineer greeted him, setting the suitcase on the ground quite a bit away from where Loki was standing. “You ready to get your ass kicked?”

“Are you?”, Loki countered, sauntering over to Stark.

The nearer he got, the better he could smell the human, and _what_ he smelled still made his hair stand on end. It wasn't as bad as it had been the first time Loki had talked to Stark since he had returned, but it was still anything but nice. Because Stark still smelled like someone else, there was still another one's scent embedded in his skin and lingering in the air around him, and Loki _did not like it._

It was a Beta's smell, as far as he could tell. Which was probably good, because Loki believed that his reaction would have been even worse if Stark had spent the last two weeks with an Omega. He was aware that his behaviour could very well be considered pathetic, and a part of him _did_ consider himself pathetic for reacting like this, but he couldn't help it. He had always been possessive of things – or people – he considered his, and while this level of, well, _jealousy_ was unusually high and overwhelming, the feeling itself wasn't unfamiliar.

He had spent the last week between his conversation with Banner and Stark's return alone on his floor, refusing to answer to Banner or even JARVIS when they had inquired after his wellbeing. He'd been on the sofa, most of the time, wrapped up in the blanket Stark always covered himself with when they watched their movies, and tried to sort out his feelings. Which had turned out to be nearly impossible, because he couldn't decipher exactly _what_ he was feeling. He recognized jealousy, he recognized the need to claim something as his and his alone, and he recognized _desire._ All of that had appeared more or less out of nowhere, though, and he felt as if there was something more to it, something that he couldn't comprehend. He suspected it had something to do with those instincts Stark and Banner kept talking about – and, yes, he had also thought about how those instincts might just be the only reason why he felt like he did. And even though that still made him angry, he couldn't even try to deny himself what he wanted, not anymore.

He wanted Stark, and he would have him.

But there was still the problem of Stark being an Alpha and himself being an Omega. He wasn't entirely sure as to what consequences those two facts would have for him, to them, because honestly, he still didn't fully understand how even remotely normal relationships could come to be with such an imbalance as their basis. He hadn't forgotten how he had recoiled when Stark had reprimanded him, and he would make sure that Stark wouldn't do that again. Because if he believed he had _any_ right to treat Loki like that, if he thought that him being an Omega entitled him to give him commands, then he was very, very wrong.

Today, he would prove that to Stark, and also to himself.

Loki came to stand close to Stark, who tried to hide the way his eyes flickered over Loki's frame and failed gloriously at that. Loki felt a spike of _something_ – smugness, maybe, or just plain triumph.

“I'm surprised you're not wearing your costume, Rock of Ages”, Stark said, and Loki smiled pleasantly.

“I do not need my armour to win a fight”, he inclined his head a little, “unlike other people.”

Stark snorted, apparently unimpressed. “You don't have to manipulate me into not wearing my suit, honey. I planned on just wearing the boots and gauntlets, anyway.”

Loki raised a brow and glanced down at himself, calling attention to his simple t-shirt, loose sitting pants and bare feet. “That will still be more pieces of armour than I am wearing.”

“Yeah, I think you can deal with that tiny disadvantage.”

Loki agreed, so he didn't say anything else and just watched as Stark leaned down to open the suitcase. The man's clothes were similar to those he had worn when they had talked in his penthouse during the invasion; a long-sleeved shirt and pants, both close-fitting. It was a look Loki would have appreciated, if it weren't for the two – no, three marks that were all too visible above Stark's collar, left there by lips and teeth that probably belonged to that vile Beta Stark still reeked of.

It would be easy enough to heal and disperse them during their sparring, Loki decided.

It had surprised him how easily Stark had agreed when Loki had challenged him to this, which had been one of the first things Loki had done when Stark had come to see him after his return. He'd been fueled by jealousy and anger that Stark had even left at all, and maybe also by the desire to do something with the human that went beyond sitting on the same sofa together. This sort of combat required closeness, after all.

“Your weapons?”, Stark asked as he put on his gauntlets, the metal spreading over his hands as if it had a mind of its own.

“Magic, of course”, Loki replied, still smiling.

“Alright”, Stark said lightly. If he was in any way bothered by Loki _using_ magic at all, he hid it well. “I thought you were fond of daggers?”

“Oh, I am.”

Stark raised his brows, but didn't probe into it. “Okay, then. You ready?”

“Yes, I -”

An energy blast out of one of Stark's gauntlets hit Loki right in the chest, and he heard the human's laugh as he was catapulted backwards. His surprise didn't last longer than the split of a second, then he already caught himself and cushioned his fall with a roll, landing on one knee. He immediately countered with a blast of his own, green magic aiming to disrupt Stark's balance. But the human was already in the air, grinning widely and dodging with surprising ease and elegance.

Loki smirked to himself. It seemed that this would be even more fun than he'd thought.

He started running and jumped, using his magic to find purchase in the air and push himself higher. Stark let out a surprised – delighted – sound and tried to fly higher yet, but one precisely thrown dagger cut him off and forced him to meet Loki in the air. From there it was almost too easy to grab the human's calf and pull them both back to the ground.

Stark tried to land on top of Loki, pin him down, and while Loki wasn't necessarily opposed to that, he still let go of Stark's leg and teleported out of the way, causing his opponent to stumble. Loki reappeared behind him and conjured up one of his spears used for sparring. All that was needed was a quick and well-aimed hit against Stark's knee pits and the human was wiped off his feet.

“Do you yield?”, Loki asked, barely resisting the urge to take a thorough look at his nails.

“You wish”, Stark shot back, took hold of Loki's spear and pulled.

Loki raised a brow, almost impressed when he found that Stark's strength with the gauntlets was, while not really a match for Loki's own, outstanding for a human. Stark's plan to throw Loki off balanced still failed, however, which he seemed to notice after a mere second, too. He used his grip on the spear and the repulsors of his boots to push himself off the ground again, leaping over Loki's head to land behind him. Loki easily dodged the attempt of a kick into his back, spun around and let his own foot meet Stark's chest. It sent him flying, but Stark quickly caught his balance and ended up hovering in the air, the bluish-white energy blasts of his armour parts aimed at the ground.

“Not bad”, he acknowledged, a bit out of breath, but still grinning.

“Likewise.”

Loki mirrored his grin as he threw his spear, holding back a little since he didn't actually want Stark to be impaled. Holding back too much, apparently, because Stark caught the weapon and hauled it right back at him. Loki pulled up a magic shield, and the spear splintered as soon as it crashed against it. Stark used the moment of distraction to get near him again, now aiming to land a – his first honest, as Thor would say – punch, which wasn't that difficult to block.

Loki had seen Stark fight before – against Thor, even – so he'd already known that Stark was talented, but sparring with him now made him realize that the human was a _wonder._ He was quick and creative, intelligent in the way he tried to find gaps in Loki's defenses, and his attacks went far beyond the dullness Loki was used to from training with Asgardians all his life. He didn't just try to knock Loki unconscious, no, he used cunning and _tricks_ to get the better of Loki without actually wanting him to surrender. He treated this more like a game than a fight, laughing and throwing quips in Loki's general direction as their danced around each other – he didn't fight for honor, didn't want to prove that he was better or stronger or worth more than Loki, he fought because he enjoyed this dance and because _Loki had asked him to._

He grinned whenever Loki teleported out of his reach.

He laughed the first time he tried to tackle one of Loki's illusions, even as it dissolved into green and golden sparks and made him tumble to the floor.

He didn't mock Loki for his way of fighting, not one single time.

He did snarl at Loki now and then, towards the end, and Loki found himself snarling back. It would have been easy, he thought, submitting to the fiery look in Stark's eyes, the harsh slant to his mouth and the threatening growl. So very easy to just bare his throat and lift his hands, only the tiniest bit. He could choose, though, and letting Stark lead in this particular dance of theirs was not the choice he would make.

(In other dances... maybe. _Gladly._ )

When Loki eventually had Stark backed up against a wall, a newly procured spear pressed against the human's chest and holding him in place, Stark still smelled of someone else. But there was also something of _Loki_ there, in his scent, mingled with sweat and mirth and determination – it was only a hint, maybe not even noticeable for a human nose. But Loki noticed it, that small bit of himself that clung to Stark, brought to his skin and clothes by almost an hour of sparring – he couldn't really describe what it smelled like, but he recognized and _relished_ it.

Stark was panting, the ghost of a smile returning and tugging at his lips. And even though it required some quite uncomfortable leaning down on his part, Loki brought their faces close to each other, close enough that he could feel the human's breaths brush his own lips.

“Do you yield?”, he asked again, watching Stark's eyes darken at the low sound of his voice.

“Do you?”, Stark echoed. His armoured hands came up to Loki's waist, not yet pulling him closer, but a steady, grounding touch that kept him right where he was. The metal was a little uncomfortable, but Loki found he didn't mind.

Well, at least he didn't until Stark used his metal hands to push Loki away, bringing his leg up to kick and catching Loki by surprise. He actually landed on his back this time, but got swiftly back on his feet again. He found Stark already on the way to him, and so their dance began again.

Loki soon had enough, though, and in the end it wasn't hard to pin Stark again, this time to the ground. It was telling that the human didn't actually fight back – and not only that, he even lifted his arms when Loki came to straddle his middle, keeping the pressure on the mortal's body light but enough to stop him from moving away.

“Enough”, Loki said, his hands on either side of Stark's head as he leaned over him. “I will ask one last time -”

“Yeah”, Stark cut in, the word not more than a breath. “Yeah, I yield.”

A wonder indeed.

Loki could smell that Stark was uncomfortable, and he could guess why. He didn't like it, and even though there was also something similar to the arousal he had smelled on Stark once before already, Loki decided to retreat and not utilize the moment. He had proven his point. He was content with the knowledge that Stark being an Alpha didn't render Loki helpless or defenseless when it came to fighting at him, and was relieved that Banner's words seemed to be right and that submitting to an Alpha wasn't the only choice he had, whatever his own instincts might demand.

It was good to know.

“I am hungry”, Loki declared, causing Stark to stare at him with an expression that could only be described as dumbfounded.

“Okay”, he said after a while. “Okay, yeah, I can – I can have JARVIS order something.”

“Good”, Loki said, and stood up. He offered Stark his hand, and after a moment of hesitation, the human took it and let himself be helped to get on his feet. Loki wrinkled his nose. “But take a shower first.”

And Stark, the mischievous wonder that he was, bowed slightly and mockingly, his grin showing good humor and something akin to relief. “Whatever his royal squeamishness commands.”

Loki couldn't suppress his smirk. He watched as Stark took off his armour and put it back into the suitcase, and took care to walk close to the inventor as they made their way to the elevators. His eyes fell to Stark's neck again, and when he realized that he hadn't made the marks disappear yet, he sent a small tingle of healing magic over his human's skin.

Anthony's hand came up to absently scratch his neck, but Loki doubted that he was aware that it was magic what he had felt.

 

xxx

 

As if their “sparring”, as Loki called it, hadn't been ~~awesome~~ weird enough, three even weirder things happened on the very same day, and continued happening the next days, too.

Number one: They began to talk.

Well, Loki began talking to Tony, which was... yeah. Strange, since he'd been the one to establish that “no talking” rule in the beginning. But he did talk to Tony now, starting with the question what Malibu was like – small talk, Loki was doing _small talk_ – when they shared dinner that day. Tony gaped a little in surprise, but pulled himself together after a moment and forced himself to answer Loki's question. They had a _normal_ conversation, then, one that you could also consider boring but somehow wasn't boring at all, because Loki was attentive and smart and actually pretty funny. Which Tony had assumed all along, actually, based on the small and brief glances at Loki's character he'd been allowed to take during the last weeks. Fine, Loki was still a bit weird like, all the time, and he was fickle and arrogant and difficult, but it wasn't like Tony cared about that.

So, they were talking now. Over dinner. While watching movies. While playing whatever game Loki fished out of that box that Tony had bought but never thought would actually be used or _enjoyed_ by anyone. Loki enjoyed beating Tony in every single one. Immensely.

(Sometimes Bruce joined them, even, and Loki talked to him too, even though he was much less comfortable and companionable than when it was just Tony and him. But still, the three of them together, that was also nice. Odd and a bit awkward now and then, but nice.)

Number two: Loki began calling him _Anthony._

Not Stark. Not Tony. Not _foolish mortal_ or something, either, no – just Anthony. Tony had almost dropped his tool the first time Loki had called him that, after magically sneaking into the speakers in his workshop again. Well, scratch that, Tony _had_ dropped his tool. He had tried to bring Loki to call him Tony instead, but Loki wasn't hearing any of that. And Tony realized he didn't mind, at least after some time of getting used to it.

Number three: Loki began flirting with him.

He did it subtly, and only when he was in a good mood and Tony hadn't done anything to annoy him. There were glances that lingered a little bit longer than needed and words that _could_ have been innuendos but weren't, really; then half-smiles and not-quite-touches and the faintest hint of want in Loki's still far too pleasant scent. It drove Tony _mad_ , and he didn't know what Loki was doing, what he wanted, and most of the time he believed that Loki had no real idea, either. Which resulted in Tony having no clue how to react, what to do.

So he didn't do anything.

He talked to Loki well and often enough, yes, and came whenever he called to spend time with the god. (Which, was that ridiculous? Pathetic? Like hell Tony knew, like hell Tony cared. He _liked_ spending time with the god.) He still waited for Loki to fall asleep, even though Loki had told him some days after their sparring that falling asleep without Tony being in the same room was starting to become easier. He liked having Loki close to him. He liked that they had both started to smell a little like each other, but not enough that it was really noticeable all the time. He liked _Loki_ , full stop.

But he didn't do anything about it.

He didn't flirt back. He didn't kiss him, he didn't try to fuck him, he didn't even _touch_ him. And all that had a very simple reason: Tony was scared shitless. He didn't know how to handle Loki, how to handle an Omega that obviously began to _depend_ on him somehow, even if it was only in a way of enjoying his company and wanting more of it. Because Loki did enjoy his company, that was clear. Loki _liked_ him. Tony didn't know when or how or why he had started to, exactly, though it seemed that Tony's rut seemed to have something do with it. Which was also weird, okay, because those two weeks of rutting had sucked like hell, and Tony had no idea how that had made him seem anything even remotely close to attractive to Loki. He'd been basically out of his mind for about fourteen days, wanting to fuck everything that kind of looked like it walked on two legs and could be fucked. (And, by the way, Loki would have fitted into that scheme. Definitely _.)_ So Tony had felt shitty enough when he'd returned, suspecting that Loki would be disgusted since he had every right to, and now _this_?

Tony didn't know how to handle this. He wasn't good with relationships. He wasn't good with Omegas. And something told him that he also wouldn't be good with meaningless sex with Loki, so he couldn't try and do that, either.

Which left him in quite a dilemma.

The more or less obvious solution would be to leave Loki be and stop seeing him every other day. To wait until he got through one or two cycles and then kick him out – hand him over to Thor, maybe, who'd been bugging Tony about seeing his younger brother the whole time, anyway. But, the thing was...

Loki didn't want to see Thor.

Loki didn't want to leave the tower and go with Thor.

Loki didn't want to stop seeing Tony.

So Tony continued keeping Thor at distance and continued spending time with Loki and, surprisingly, the dilemma didn't just solve itself after a few weeks of driving Tony insane. Actually, it got even _worse._

About five months after Loki had moved in, Tony mostly didn't ask Loki anymore if he could enter the god's floor. JARVIS gave Loki a warning, usually, and while Loki always had the chance to have the AI tell Tony to leave him alone, he only very rarely did so. Still, the response JARVIS passed on to Tony always told him quite a bit about Loki's mood. He had his bad days; days on which he wouldn't talk or even look at Tony, days on which everything he said was mean, derisive or a combination of those two. Sometimes Tony felt like he was about to get stabbed or something, and there _had_ been a few pranks in the two months since his return, but none of them had been actually life-threatening. Somehow, he trusted Loki that he would send him away if he really didn't want company, and as long as the god didn't tell him to piss off, Tony would stay at his goddamn side and hope that it – that he – helped a little.

Today was one of those days, as it seemed.

Loki hadn't even reacted to JARVIS when he'd informed him that Tony was in the elevator, Tony was already a bit worried. He found Loki on the sofa, then, curled up under a blanket. There was a forgotten cup of tea on the sofa table and an open book on the floor, looking as if it had either been dropped there by Loki or just slipped from the sofa on its own.

Loki smelled a bit off, but he always did when he was moping like this. Now that Loki's pheromones were more or less in full working order, it was pretty distinct how different his scent was from a human's. It was definitely more intense, for one thing, and his emotions had a vastly bigger effect on how he smelled. Which meant that, when he was in a bad mood like now, he smelled goddamn miserable.

Tony was glad that he'd managed to improve his suppressants shortly after his rut; they dampened the effects of Loki's smell a little. Which didn't mean that Tony stopped wanting to cheer Loki up as quickly as possible, but at least he could keep a clear mind in the process.

“Loki? You awake?”

A low grumble was the only answer he got. Tony stopped in front of the sofa, looking down at the god whose face was buried in a cushion, hidden from sight. Tony could only see the back of his head and had to smile a little at the unusually messy black hair.

“Since when are you lying here like this?”, he asked as he sat down on the sofa, careful to leave enough distance between Loki and himself. “You could use a shower, Lokes.”

“You smell far worse than me”, Loki replied, his voice muffled by the cushion.

He was probably right; Tony had spent the last two days in his workshop without showering or eating or sleeping. He know cursed himself for that, even though he knew that his absence couldn't be the reason for, well, whatever Loki was going through at the moment. He'd kept working after his return from Malibu, after all, and usually Loki just came to find him in his lab when he was bored and Tony didn't seem to surface anytime soon. He hadn't done that this time, so Tony had just assumed that he'd been okay with being on his own for a few days.

“Want me to leave?”, Tony asked, keeping his tone light.

There was a pause, then he heard a resigned huff of breath and a muttered “no”. Tony smiled to himself and stood up again, going off to find the tablet he'd let lying around somewhere here the last time. When he found it on the kitchen counter and returned to the sofa, Loki was just sitting up. He raked unusually jittery hands through his tousled hair and rubbed his face, eyes finding and staying fixed on Tony as soon as he sat down next to him again.

Tony looked at him, unable to keep his concern out of his expression or voice when he asked, “are you okay?”

Loki blinked at him, then he gave a curt nod, his eyes skittering away. He pulled his legs against his chest and kept one arm firmly tucked around his middle. The blanket had fallen from his shoulders, and Tony could see the god's feet rubbing against each other in some sort of nervous mannerism he hadn't ever seen on Loki before. When he looked back at Loki's face, Tony noticed that the god's cheeks were freaking flushed, the red slowly spreading out all the way down to his collar bones. Tony was still staring at that when he realized that there was an odd note in Loki's scent, something similar to his usual reeking-when-miserable, but not quite the same and much more – much more _something_ ; Tony found himself unable to tell.

He frowned and moved closer to Loki on the sofa. “Hey, what's wrong? Are you sick or something?”

Loki didn't respond. He just stared at Tony's hand that was hovering in the air between them, unsure if it was allowed to touch. Tony could _see_ him swallow, Adam's apple slightly bobbing, then watched as the god's lips parted as he let out a soft breath. Tony began talking again, wondering out loud if he should get Bruce, but he was cut off abruptly when Loki suddenly moved, tucking himself against Tony's side and burying his face in the crook of his neck. His movements were slow, but not tentative. He pressed himself against Tony's body as if he _belonged_ there and Tony couldn't do anything else than stare down at him with wide eyes and try to to understand what the _hell_ was going on.

“Loki? Loki, what are you doing?”

Again, no response, just Loki exhaling harshly against Tony's neck, warm breath tickling on his skin. One of Loki's hands came up to firmly grasp Tony's shirt, not allowing him to even try to move away. Tony swallowed thickly, trying to calm his thoughts and his heart, which was beating much too fast all of a sudden. Eventually, he managed to put his hands on Loki's back, wondering if he should try to push the mage away. That idea faded as soon as Loki melted into him, though, tension bleeding out of his body in what Tony recognized as relief – relief that Tony touched him in return, relief that he _wasn_ 't pushed away, that he was allowed to stay exactly where he was. There was no way Tony could break away after realizing all of that. He didn't even want to. He left his hands where they were, patting Loki's back a bit awkwardly. The god's body was warm and solid, a _lovely_ weight against Tony's side, and soon enough he found himself enjoying this slightly weird hug, though the better part of his brain didn't stop wondering what had brought it about. He couldn't not notice that Loki's breathing was a bit ragged and didn't seem like it would steady anytime soon. Then, Loki started rubbing his nose against the soft skin of Tony's neck, breath hitching even more every time he inhaled the human's scent. Tony frowned and followed an impulse, burying his own nose in Loki's hair and breathing in. It took only a second until he finally figured it out, until that _odd_ note in Loki's smell suddenly wasn't odd anymore but clear as fucking day.

Arousal. So much different than how a human would smell, but, yes – _arousal_. And beneath it was something that was only noticeable from up close at the moment, but would become more blatant very soon, Tony was sure of that. He hadn't smelled it in a long time and certainly never on an alien, but that heavy and sweet, almost-too-much savor that was beginning to radiate off Loki now was unmistakable.

He should never have forgotten that this was bound to happen at some point, and he certainly shouldn't be here now that it _was_ happening.

Heat, goddammit. Loki was going into _heat._

 


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Would you look at that, an early update! xD Sadly, the next one could take a bit because I have finals coming next week, but I'll try to update as soon as possible. Thank you so much for reading, guys, and for all your comments and kudos! I love you all. <3 
> 
> Warnings in the end notes!! Also, please note the rating change. ;)

Loki was not entirely sure what was going on.

He had slept badly last night – actually, he hadn't slept at all, just dozed the hours away. Which wasn't all that unusual; he still had some troubles sleeping when Anthony's scent wasn't at least somewhat fresh in the air. Loki hadn't thought much of it, and when he had felt dizzy and befogged when he'd stood up in the early morning, he had simply blamed that on lack of sleep. Eventually, after hours and hours trying to sort his muddled thoughts, he had come to the conclusion that he must be sick. He had _felt_ sick; his head clouded, skin itching, stomach churning. And then this warmth, this heat pooling low in his belly, making him believe he was feverish, making it hard to stay still and breathe or even think.

And now that Anthony was here, and so close, it was only getting worse. Worse, yes, or maybe better – Loki believed he was beginning to feel better, at least, believed that as long he was allowed to feel Anthony's hands on his back, the touch seeping through his clothes and into his skin and relieving the itch a little, he would be fine. He would be fine if he could just stay like this a little bit longer; huddle against Anthony's chest and feel his warmth and breathe in his scent, his scent, his _scent._

It cleared and clouded Loki's thoughts at the same time, that scent. Allowed him to focus on one single thing, one feeling that split up into hundreds of sensations and was only just on the edge of being too much and too intense and too good. Because it was good, Loki _felt_ good, because Anthony was here and touching him and giving him just what he needed. Contact, and a warmth that should have intensified the heat pulling at Loki's insides, but somehow only managed to balance it out and change it into something comfortable, something soothing.

Loki was safe, and Anthony was with him. That was all he needed to know, all he needed to concentrate on. Loki didn't care about anything else.

“Loki? Loki, can you hear me?”

Anthony's voice was almost as nice as his scent, almost as warm, and Loki gave a low, pleased hum to tell him that, yes, he could hear him quite well.

“You're going into heat”, Anthony whispered to him.

Loki opened his eyes, more in reaction to the nervousness coloring Anthony's voice and scent all of a sudden. He couldn't see anything except Anthony's neck, but it wasn't like he needed to see anything else right now. He thought about what Anthony had said, the word _heat_ echoing in his thoughts as if it should mean something to him. It didn't, or at least Loki didn't care about remembering its meaning at the moment. So he just let out another hum and closed his eyes again. He nuzzled Anthony's neck, hoping to calm him down a little.

“Loki”, Anthony said, so urgent that it made Loki frown. “I don't know what to do. What do you – Do you want me to leave?”

As soon as the words registered, panic rushed through him, and Loki pressed even closer against Anthony, his grip on the human's shirt tightening to make sure he stayed exactly where he was. “No.”

“Loki, I can't -”

“Stay.” Loki forced himself to look up, trying to meet Anthony's eyes. They were wide and filled with emotions Loki couldn't decipher, but that didn't even matter as long as Anthony just - “ _Stay._ Please.”

Anthony let out a harsh breath, but he nodded. “Yeah, okay, I'll – I'll stay. I promise.”

Satisfied, Loki rested his head on the human's shoulder again. The rest of his panic was washed away by Anthony's scent quickly enough, even though Anthony didn't stop smelling slightly agitated. Loki tried to soothe him by holding him even tighter and rubbing his nose against his neck again, imprinting his _own_ scent in Anthony's skin. It helped a little. Then, Anthony began talking, apparently to somebody else, because somebody else answered. Loki made a displeased sound, but relaxed when Anthony rubbed his back. He decided quickly that it was unimportant to listen to whatever Anthony and the other voice spoke spoke about and concentrated on what he felt instead, what he wanted.

He didn't know what he wanted, but he knew that Anthony could give it to him. He knew that he needed more of his touches, more of his closeness, and that the heat inside of him was only increasing because he hadn't yet _gotten_ more of it all. Loki could feel his face flush, his hands trembling even as they continued holding onto Anthony, and it didn't take long until he started squirming.

Distantly, he recognized the feeling now flooding his veins as arousal, and the change from warm-safe-content to helpless-needy-desperate was too sudden and simply too _much_ for him to understand, and he couldn't suppress the panicked sound that was forced out of him.

Anthony made a hushing noise in response, but he didn't stop talking to that voice that had no body and no smell, and Loki couldn't stand being _secondary_ in _his_ Alpha's attention. He gripped Anthony's shirt tighter, then moved away from the cold metal that didn't have _anything_ to do in his human's chest until he was sure that there was skin beneath the fabric, skin he could dig his nails into until until Anthony's attention was on him and him alone. The man made a surprised noise but stopped talking, and after a few seconds it became clear that his conversation was over. Smiling in satisfaction, Loki pressed his mouth to Anthony's throat and -

“Hey, hey, no”, Anthony's voice held him back, together with gentle but firm hands on Loki's shoulders, pushing him away. “No biting, okay?”

Loki whined, didn't understand – why did Anthony keep him from this, from claiming him like they both wanted? That made _no sense_ , none whatsoever; he could _smell_ Anthony's arousal, the beginning of it, anyway, and he knew that he should be allowed to do this, that he had every right to want and have this. He even wanted to be bitten himself, norns, wanted that even more, _why_ did Anthony hold him back -

“Loki, calm down”, Anthony said, and even though the hands on his shoulders shouldn't be able to keep him from doing what he wanted, Loki stilled. Anthony ran his fingers through Loki's hair, brushing it out of his face to look at him, and Loki leaned into the touch, desperate for more. Anthony exhaled audibly, his voice still firm when he continued, “look, I'll stay as long as I can. I promise. But I won't touch you more than – more than this. No biting, Loki. No undressing me. And we won't – we _can't_ fuck, okay?”

Loki didn't understand what he was saying.

“Do you understand what I'm saying?”

No, it made no _sense_ , not even -

“I can't stay if you -”

“Yes”, Loki blurted out, scrambling to get on his knees on the sofa, both hands on Anthony's chest. “No biting. I won't.”

“And no fucking”, Anthony added pointedly, and even though Loki still didn't understand _why_ , he nodded.

Anthony sighed softly, and Loki could see discomfort in his expression and smell it in his scent, which made him nervous in return. The heat was starting to become overwhelming, but the dizziness didn't go away, no matter how long he tried to gather his thoughts. It felt like his skin was on fire, itching all over and already a bit wet from sweat, and his clothes clung to it uncomfortably. He was trembling, and the need for _something_ was so intense that he felt like he was drowning in it.

“Come here”, Anthony said eventually, _finally_ , his voice soft and low and soothing, and Loki was in his arms again in an instant.

Loki didn't know how long they stayed like that. Time became meaningless when he was wrapped up in Anthony's arms and scent, careful warm hands rubbing his back and arms and anything else they could reach. Fingers playing with his hair, thumbs stroking his cheeks (wet, why were they wet?) and now and then even a mouth brushing his forehead, only the faintest of touches. Loki was breathing heavily and his arousal never faded, but it was – it was bearable, like this; he trusted that Anthony knew what was going on. He had promised he would stay, so everything would be alright.

Sadly, it didn't take all that long until comforting touches and soothing closeness turned into torture. Because Anthony wouldn't let Loki touch him, held him back whenever he tried to let his hands wander or get his mouth somewhere, _anywhere_ on him. And Loki couldn't stand Anthony growling or snarling at him, not right now, so he eventually stopped trying and just listened to his own whines and other pitiful sounds, and to Anthony's whispered apologies that did only so much to soothe him.

Insanity - that was what Loki thought in one brief, clear moment. _Insanity_ , coming back to him after months of peace. Anthony was his anchor, the only fixed point in the Void, and Loki couldn't do anything but hope and pray and beg that he would eventually _do_ something. Loki wanted him so badly, wanted him as if his entire existence had been narrowed down to wanting, no, _needing_ him. Needing to touch and bite and taste him and to being touched and bitten and tasted in return.

Loki didn't, couldn't understand why Anthony refused to give all that to him, to _them._

“Come on”, Anthony's voice got through to him after what might have been an eternity. “Come, let's get you off the sofa, okay? Your pants -”, he broke off, started again, “the bed would be much better, don't you think? More, uh. Comfortable.”

 _The bed._ Loki rolled the words over in his dizzy head, inspected them, needing a moment to understand what Anthony was suggesting – and then he was already nodding, frantically, and scrambled to get up as soon as Anthony encouraged him to do so. He nearly fell, the room spinning around him, but Anthony's hands were there and steadied him. The human wrapped an arm around Loki's waist and kept him on his feet, Loki immediately leaning against him.

“I can't carry you”, Anthony told him, smelling concerned. It put Loki on edge, but the only thing he could do was press against Anthony and hope that the closeness would soothe them both. Everything would be fine; they were together, after all. He heard Anthony sigh, but his next words were already softer, “you have to walk, Loki. Just to the bedroom, can you do that?”

Loki nodded again, even though his legs barely held him. His knees buckled when he tried to make a step, and only with Anthony's help he eventually managed to get to the bedroom. The air there was much colder and cleaner, which was _terrible_ , and he tried to bury his nose into Anthony again as soon as he could. Somehow, he landed on the bed – more forceful than Anthony had wanted, judging by the human's curse, but Loki had no time to think about that. The brief pressure of the mattress against his backside had knocked the breath out of his lungs, and then, when he moved, the friction of his wet pants against his bottom that was much more sensitive than it had _any_ right to – _wet_ , why were his pants so wet, Loki didn't understand, he just wanted – he needed -

“Shh, Loki, it's alright. It's okay, you're going to be fine.” Anthony, leaning over him, his smell closer again, _thank the norns._ “I'm here, we just have to -”

Loki pulled him down into a kiss, his own mouth already open and almost crashing against the human's. There was a hitched moan that was probably Loki's own as he buried his hands in Anthony's hair to stop him from moving away, every other thought and fear fading when he finally, _finally_ felt that mouth on his. He was panting into the kiss already, and Anthony – Anthony groaned, and then kissed back. He came to straddle his stomach, somehow, pinning Loki down and leaning over him. His mouth moved against Loki's with a force that was too much, too hard, _perfect_ , and his lips parted instantly, tongue sliding against Loki's and into his mouth. Loki keened and arched up into Anthony's body, trying to get even closer and lift his hips and grind against _something._ He was so hard that it hurt, hadn't even noticed that until now but he _was_ , and he needed so much more than -

Anthony broke away, hissing a curse or maybe Loki's name. Loki made a protesting sound and tried to pull him back down, one hand still in his hair and the other on the back of his neck, but he didn't gain more than a brief pressure of lips against lips before Anthony tilted his face away, sitting up and snatching the Omega's wrists. Loki writhed under him, not yet trying to free himself but also not allowing Anthony to get away, and he only stopped moving when Anthony growled at him.

“ _No_ , Loki”, he gritted out, panting himself now, “we can't – I said – _no_ , okay? We can't do this. Let go of me.”

Loki whimpered and only tightened his hold. He couldn't sit up because the human was more or less sitting on his chest, and he didn't understand what Anthony wanted him to do – he didn't understand anything anymore, he couldn't even _begin_ to try to understand. The need was overbearing, now, consumed every single clear thought; everything else was trivial.

“Let go of me, Loki, _please._ You don't want this.”

Anthony sounded broken, his scent dripping with arousal that was turned sour by frustration and reluctance. Another whine escaped Loki's lips even though he'd pressed them together, and eventually he did what Anthony wanted. As soon as Loki's hands didn't hold him anymore, Anthony scrambled to get first off Loki and then off the whole bed, falling to the floor with a thud. Loki, still panting, still making soft noises of protest and confusion and distress, curled in on himself. He rolled onto his side, arms tucked against his middle as if that could do anything do quench the fire in his belly. He couldn't keep his thighs from rubbing against each other, searching whatever bit of friction he could get even though he couldn't get what he needed, not like this.

There were a few words, Anthony's frantic voice telling him that he was sorry and that he couldn't and that this was not right, and Loki still didn't understand. He did hear the steps, though, and the realization that Anthony had left, left him here like _this_ , crashed down on him and made everything even worse.

The need didn't vanish. His skin was so burning hot that Loki wanted to creep out of it, and his clothes were rubbing against and chafing it. He didn't know how, but somehow he managed to get rid of them. The sheets against his now bare skin weren't any better, and so he curled up again and closed his eyes and willed everything to end. He couldn't stop panting. His cock, curving against his stomach and already dripping, was throbbing and hurting and begging to be touched, and Loki couldn't help it. He wrapped his hand around the base, too firmly to be comfortable and still not enough, and the touch pulled a moan out of somewhere deep in his throat. Not even trying to catch his breath, he started stroking, slower than he really needed, but somehow he didn't manage to move faster. His hand was trembling too much. Pleasure dripped down his spine and made him shake, but it still wasn't _enough._ His other hand acted on instinct, reaching behind him and moving over wet thighs and between even wetter cheeks. A finger found his puckered entrance, slick and wet and opening up far too easily, and Loki groaned through clenched teeth. One finger, then two, curling a little inside of him, and with his other hand stroking his cock -

Loki's shout was muffled when he turned his face into the mattress, waves of pleasure flooding him. Pleasure that was blinding and forceful and unkind, and, no, not what he needed.

Relief was fleeting and fading too quickly, and the heat returned mere seconds later.

The next minuteshoursdays passed in a blur.

 

xxx

 

He'd fucked up, he'd fucked up, he'd fucked up.

Big time.

Tony knew that all too well as he fled out of Loki's bedroom, almost sprinting to the elevator out of fear that he would just turn around and go back to Loki and his pleading eyes and persuading mouth and too fucking inviting scent. In the elevator, Tony leaned against the wall and tried to catch his breath.

Tried not to think about what Loki was probably doing right now.

“Penthouse”, he forced out, and JARVIS silently obeyed and started the elevator.

Having arrived on his floor, Tony stumbled to the bathroom, out of his clothes and then into a cold, cold shower. Not could enough to make his erection flag, apparently, so he was forced to take care of it. (Tried not to think about Loki. Failed, of course.) At least he came quickly, but the orgasm sort of sucked. However that was possible, Tony had no idea; probably had to do something with guilt. He tried to scrub Loki's scent off his skin, but he wasn't sure if he succeeded.

After he'd changed and at least sort of calmed down, he went back to the elevators and rode down to Bruce's floor. His friend was already waiting for him – Tony had spoken with JARVIS, when he'd been with Loki on the sofa, and the AI had told Bruce that Loki in heat was apparently a thing that was happening right now.

“I fucked up”, Tony announced when he entered Bruce's living room, the scientist watching him approach from where he was sitting on the sofa.

“What did you do?” Bruce sounded a little bit alarmed himself, which was, yeah, totally reassuring and comforting.

“I – I don't know, it was just -” Tony stopped and took a breath, trying to calm down. He didn't quite manage that, though, just ended up pacing in front of the sofa. “Uh, we cuddled? For a few hours. He wanted to cuddle, and I thought that was fine. Cuddling _is_ fine, isn't it?”

“I would say so, yes”, Bruce said, eyes following Tony as he paced. “It really helps in the beginning, so it's good that you were -”

“I touched him. Never below the waist, but I touched him, and at first I thought that helped but then -”

“Then it only made things worse?”

“Yeah, and he wanted – he kept trying to kiss me.” Tony's hand came up to rub his neck, as if looking for an imprint Loki's lips might have left on his skin. “And bite me.”

Bruce blinked, apparently surprised. “He tried to bite you? Did you let him?”

“No! Of course I – I couldn't. I can hardly let him claim me like that when we haven't ever talked about it and when I don't know if he wants me to claim him back and so I always stopped him which he didn't like at all and -”

“Tony, breathe”, Bruce interrupted him, sounding concerned. “Come, sit down.”

Tony didn't sit down, but he forced himself to stop walking. He shoved his hands into his pockets, trying to hide the fact that they were trembling. “I fucked up”, he said again, weaker this time.

Bruce sighed and stood up. Tony didn't protest when his friend led him the few steps to the sofa and made him sit. Bruce sat down right next to him, close enough for Tony to smell him, and not for the first time he noticed that there was something off about his friend's scent, but Tony still couldn't put his finger on it.

“It's good that you didn't let him”, Bruce told him, his hand giving Tony's arm an awkward parting pat before he pulled back. “And I'm sure you didn't -”

“I promised I'd stay”, Tony spoke over him. His hands felt restless, but he didn't know what to do with them. “I said that I would. But then he kissed me, and I kissed back and only just managed – I _promised_ I would stay, and then I -”

“Tony”, Bruce cut in, his tone soft. “I think you did the right thing. Okay? He's... I imagine he'll be glad, when his heat is over and nobody, ah, you know. Without his consent.”

“Glad”, Tony echoed, huffing a laugh. He rubbed his face. “He won't be glad, Bruce, he'll fucking hate me.”

Bruce shook his head, but when Tony shot him a pointed look, he sighed and shrugged. “Well, yes, he'll probably be a bit pissed. But that will have more to do with the heat itself than with you, Tony. He won't hate you.”

“Yes, he will”, Tony insisted. “Loki hates everyone, anyway.”

“That's not true, and you know it.”

“I should have talked to him about this”, Tony said, unwilling to talk or even think about who Loki hated or didn't hate right now. “I should have asked him how he'd like to handle this _before_ it happened.”

“Yes, that would have been -”

“Then we could have made some arrangements or something, I don't know – set him up with someone, maybe, or I could have -” He cut himself off, shaking his head, because _that_ was a bad line of thought.

“We didn't ask him, though”, Bruce said gently when it became clear that Tony wouldn't end his sentence. “So we can't know how he would like to handle this.”

Tony clenched his teeth, thoughts running, then said, “You could ask him now, maybe -”

“He'll just want you, Tony.”

Tony deflated, staring at his knees. He felt like he was about to get the headache to end all headaches. “Fuck”, he muttered, because he knew that Bruce was right.

He knew that Loki wouldn't want anyone else. Tony was the Alpha he knew best and trusted and even _liked_ the most. Which didn't count for anything, really, since Tony was the only Alpha he really knew at all. Tony assumed that Loki wouldn't say no to another Alpha – this was his first head, he'd probably accept anyone as long as they remotely smelled like Alpha; though he might be somewhat less enthusiastic with a stranger than he would have been with Tony – but, well, it wasn't like any of that mattered. It wasn't like Tony would let any other Alpha close to Loki right now, not when he was this vulnerable and Tony had never had a conversation about consent with a Loki who was clear-headed and able to make carefully considered decisions about who was or wasn't allowed to fuck or even touch him.

“I think you would be the only one he wants, anyway”, Bruce said carefully, startling Tony out of his thoughts and into looking at him again.

“What?”

Bruce lifted his shoulders, smirking the tiniest bit. “He wants you, Tony. That's pretty obvious.” Tony had no idea what to say to that, so he just stared at his friend until Bruce added, “He's been flirting with you for weeks now. Don't tell me you didn't notice that.”

Tony managed not to glare at Bruce, but only because he didn't quite hold his gaze. “Duh. Of course I did.”

“He's also been waiting for you to make a move.”

Tony frowned, hand coming up to rub his eyes again. “Yes, I know.”

“Why don't you?”

“Because it really isn't a good idea.”

“You're doing things that aren't good ideas all the time.”

“Are you encouraging me to hook up with a former enemy, Brucey?”

“No, I am encouraging you to start a relationship with a member of your pack”, Bruce corrected, his tone calm but a bit contradicted by the slight blush that had crept into his cheeks. Tony stared at him, and Bruce hurried to add, “not _now,_ of course. But when his heat is over?”

Tony just continued staring, still speechless.

“I mean, I know it's none of my business and I'm no expert in this stuff, either, but I think Loki's getting a bit impatient. And I don't think Loki getting impatient is good for anyone's wellbeing. So you two could talk when his head is clear again and, you know. Sort things out.”

Tony was still gaping, and after a while Bruce seemed to get actually nervous.

“Tony? What's wrong? Was it something I said?”

Tony blinked at him. He slowly shook his head, then contradicted himself by saying, “yeah. I mean. You said – pack? What pack?”

Bruce's expression cleared immediately, concern and confusion dissolving into mild exasperation. He shook his head, but smiled a little as he said, “You're hopeless sometimes, do you know that?”

“Wait, are you telling me -”

“Yes”, Bruce said, nodding. “You, Loki. And me. For several weeks now. You really didn't notice?”

“I...”, Tony began, but didn't say anything else. His head was wiped clear of any coherent thought.

Bruce sighed and offered Tony his hand, holding his wrist more or less directly under Tony's nose. “Here. You can't tell me you didn't notice the changes.”

Tony couldn't _not_ smell Bruce like this, and after a moment Bruce seemed to be sure that he had made his point clear. He retreated his hand as soon as possible, then; always a bit uncomfortable with closeness when it wasn't necessary. (Tony knew that, and after a bit of exploring boundaries in the beginning, he'd always made sure not to touch Bruce all the time, even though he was a fairly tactile person.)

Tony stared at the other scientist, brain still busy with catching on what a deeper, more instinctive part of him had already understood and, yes, accepted. “You smell like me”, he said eventually.

“Yes”, Bruce confirmed, watching him with a half-smile. “Loki, too.”

Tony blinked rapidly, then shook his head. “But that's – I mean, you both live in my tower. Everything here smells like me.”

Bruce hummed. “We could blame it on that, yes. Or we could admit that we have become one of the oddest packs in existence and be alright with that.”

“But – does that mean I am -”

“The leader? Yes.”

“Fuck, that's – I'm so so-”

“Don't you dare apologize for that”, Bruce interrupted, then shrugged when Tony stared at him. “It's fine. I like it, actually. And you have been acting as our Alpha the whole time, anyway, so it was... Well, unavoidable, I think.”

“When did I ever act as – as _your_ Alpha?”, Tony asked, trying to sound less hysteric as he felt.

“Well, uh”, Bruce said, thinking, “you check up on me at least once a day, if not more often. You make sure that I have eaten and everything else I might need, and that I'm not bothered by anything. You try to fix it if I _am_ bothered by something. And we spend a lot of time together, if you haven't noticed.”

“But that's – I do all that because you're my _friend_ , Bruce. Not because I think you need me to take care of you.”

“I know, Tony”, Bruce said, smiling again. “And I don't _need_ you to take care of me, but that doesn't mean that I don't appreciate it.” He hesitated, then added, “It's nice, having a safe place to come home to. I haven't known that since... well.”

“So you don't mind”, Tony stated flatly, still trying to wrap his head around this new information that shouldn't be new, but was anyway, because he had apparently been blind for several weeks.

“No, I don't.”

“Okay”, Tony said. “Okay.”

Bruce raised his brows at him. “Are you alright?”

“Yes. Yeah, sure, I'm fine.” Sort of. “What about the other guy? What does he think about this?”

“He's still your biggest fan”, Bruce said dryly.

“So I don't have to worry about him getting angry at me because of this whole... Alpha business.”

“No. He'd never hurt you. Or Loki, for that matter.”

“Right.” Tony stared into space for a moment, then at Bruce, then shook his head. “God, I need a drink. Do you have alcohol somewhere here?”

“Kitchen. There's still that bottle of scotch you opened the other day.”

Nodding, Tony stood up and went to pour himself a glass. “You want anything, too?”

“No, thank you”, Bruce said, the smirk audible in his voice.

 _Holy shit_ , Tony thought as he downed his drink. _A pack._

A pack with a not-quite-because-gamma-induced Omega, his green alter ego and another Omega who just happened to be a Norse God from outer space.

Life couldn't get any weirder, could it?

 

xxx

 

Unsurprisingly, it could.

(And, honestly, Tony would just refuse to be surprised about anything from now on. Things could _always_ get weirder.)

He and Bruce agreed that it would be better if Tony stayed clear off Loki's floor as long as he was in heat. Which goddamn sucked, because he knew that Loki was only an elevator ride away, wanting him. Tony knew that heats were stressful when the Omega had to make it through them on their own, and given that this was Loki's first heat, the god was probably overwhelmed by everything and therefore panicking twenty-four-seven. And that led Tony to the conclusion that he was indeed a shitty Alpha and wouldn't stop being one, even though Bruce kept assuring him that everything would be fine. It was Bruce who checked on Loki every few hours, making sure that the god was as fine as could be expected, given the circumstances. He even had the pleasure to introduce Loki to a box of various dildos and plugs; something Tony really didn't envy him for. (Tony didn't know if Loki was using them. He hadn't asked, and Bruce hadn't told him.)

It was on the third day of Loki's heat that something changed. Bruce assumed that Loki's hormones were starting to reach their peak, but they couldn't be sure since they didn't let JARVIS scan Loki as long as the god wasn't able to consent. Tony was in his shop, trying to distract himself with his work, when Bruce called him via the intercom of the tower.

“ _He's fine, I think_ ”, the scientist said, sounding a bit hesitant.

“You sure?”

A brief pause, then, “ _yes. He didn't act any different than this morning, but... uh._ ”

Frowning, Tony stopped tinkering. “What? What is it?”

“ _Well, he's... He's blue?_ ”

Tony blinked. “What?”

“ _He's blue_ ”, Bruce said again. “ _I have a theory why. I'm on my way to the workshop, I'll tell you everything._ ”

Tony agreed, and JARVIS ended the connection. Tony just sat around for a moment, but then he hesitantly pulled up the broadcast of Loki's bedroom. He hadn't done that so far, feeling like he didn't have any right to watch Loki while he was in this condition. Gladly, he didn't even get to being distracted by whatever Loki was doing or how debauched he looked, because _how he looked_ was much more interesting, all of a sudden.

Sure enough, Loki was blue. From head to toe.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, there's some technically non-consensual touching and kissing in this chapter, but I feel like it's not enough to put it in the Archive warnings. But be warned, anyway. <3


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ... Did it really take me a month to update this? Yes. Yes, it did. I hate that real life always messes up my writing schedules. *sigh* 
> 
> But anyway!! I'm back! And I'm on semester break now, so hopefully the next chapter will come a bit sooner.
> 
> Enjoy! <3

Loki’s apartment smelled… good. And not just because that faint hint of an Omega in heat was still lingering in the air, though that probably played into it a bit, too. But that wasn’t the first thing Tony smelled when he hesitantly walked into the living room - no, the first thing he smelled was Bruce, who sat at the kitchen counter, hunched over a tablet and reading. Of course his smell was all over the place; he’d spent the better part of the last two weeks on Loki’s floor. He’d even slept here, on the sofa. But then there was also that mingle of Bruce _and_ Loki - Loki’s fresh, sweet scent combined with Bruce’s sour-because-scientifically-altered one. It should have been strange, probably, and uncomfortable, but it wasn’t. Of _course_ it wasn’t. The only thing missing was Tony’s own scent, and he felt far too comforted by the thought that it would mix with those of his packmates, now that he was here.

Packmates _._

Yeah, that was still weird.

Bruce looked up when he noticed Tony and immediately set his tablet aside. He smiled at him, but it wasn’t that convincing, and Tony realized that his friend looked goddamn tired. And a little bit annoyed, maybe, despite the smile.

“Hi”, Bruce said when Tony arrived in the kitchen, frowning as he looked him up and down. “You look awful.”

“Thanks, Brucey. You really are a charmer.”

“Sorry.” Bruce took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. “I suppose I’m not looking that great, either.”

“No, not really”, Tony said and hopped onto a barstool next to Bruce. “How’s he doing?”

“Better”, Bruce said, lifting his shoulders, “but not good. His heat is pretty much over, but he’s still a bit… cuddly. He really needs to eat something, but he didn’t want to, no matter what I said, and I couldn’t get him out of bed.” He looked at Tony for a moment, then added, “and he keeps asking for you.”

“Oh.”

“Mhhm.”

“So I should, uh…”

“Yeah. He’s probably awake. But he could change his mind as soon as he smells you, so… you know, approach him slowly.”

“Right.” Tony stared at his friend for a while, nodding slowly. “Yeah, right. I can do that.”

Bruce smirked a little. “I opened the windows and had Jarvis air out both the bedroom and the bathroom, so the smell shouldn’t be that intense anymore. Just go and see how he reacts, and if he wants you to stay, try and make him shower, okay? He reeks a bit.”

Tony nodded again, even though he’d hoped that that one time he’d bathed Loki in the beginning of his stay would be the last time. Well. “Is he still blue?”, he asked.

“Yes.” Bruce frowned. “But I think he hasn’t noticed.”

Tony looked at his friend, frowning. “How do you _not_ notice that you’re blue?”

“His head is still pretty clouded, I think”, Bruce answered carefully. “But he’ll become clearer when you’re around, probably, and then he should realize.”

“Oh, great. So he’s gonna freak out.”

“Probably. You can touch him, though. I know Thor said that Frost Giants freeze everything, but Loki is just a bit cold.”

“Alright”, Tony said, deciding to ask later when and how Bruce had found that out. (It wasn’t like he minded if they’d touched. He sort of assumed they had touched quite a bit, but… still. He’d ask about that later.)

“Go”, Bruce told him, nodding into the direction of the bedroom. “I’ll stay a bit longer. Call me when you’ve got him out of the bedroom, then I’ll change the sheets. He didn’t let me earlier.”

“Okay.” Tony stood up again and patted Bruce’s shoulder; a stand-in for the hug he would have preferred but knew Bruce wouldn’t be entirely comfortable with. It had turned out that realizing the pack thing had made Tony become even more prone to touching, which was a bit weird since he’d never before felt the need to, well, imprint his scent on other human beings, but, well. Apparently things just were like that now. He hadn’t spent that much time with Bruce the last two weeks, but still enough to notice that, while his friend wasn’t actually opposed to a bit more touching, he still needed more time getting used to that. Which was good, because Tony needed _at least_ a few years to get used to this.

“And try to get him to eat something”, Bruce reminded him, and Tony made himself grin again.

“Will do. Thanks, big guy.”

“No need.”

They exchanged another smile, then Tony left the kitchen. He found the door to the bedroom left ajar, and even from his place in front of it he could smell Loki. It made him swallow and clench his teeth, but he was very determined to not let it get to his head. And actually, that was easier than expected, mostly because there was a generous amount of misery subverting the sweet and heady scent of a heat. Tony didn’t allow himself to hesitate before he knocked on the door.

“Hey, Loki, it’s me. Tony. Can I come in?”

There was no answer, and after a long moment Tony pushed the door open a bit more and peeked inside. His eyes immediately fixed on the bed, where Loki was curled up on his side, legs drawn up to his chest and his face half hidden in the mattress. He was naked, which allowed Tony to see a lot of bright azure skin. He forced himself to look at Loki's head instead of, well, anything else.

“Loki?”, he asked again.

Loki still didn’t reply, but he did turn his face into the messy sheets, hiding it completely. At least he was awake.

“I’m coming in now”, Tony announced carefully. He waited another few seconds in case Loki wanted to object, but the god stayed quiet, so Tony slipped in and slowly approached the bed. He tried not to stare at the many wet spots on the sheets and came to crouch on the floor, on the side of the bed where he could face Loki, who really didn’t make the impression that he wanted company.

“Loki?”, Tony asked again. No response. “Listen, I'm just here to - to check on you. You want me to leave and I leave, alright? But it'd be nice if you…”

Tony trailed off when Loki suddenly moved. Turning his head, he opened his eyes to look or rather glare at Tony, who tried very hard not to flinch and only just succeeded. Yeah, Bruce had warned him about the eyes being a bit weird, and Tony had seen it on footage himself, but it was different from up close. In this form, Loki's eyes were blood-red and glinting like rubies. It was definitely creepy, and that together with the lighter blue, raised lines drawing intricate patterns on azure skin Loki looked like, well - like the most _alien_ person Tony had ever seen.

But it was still Loki, right?

Loki, who was, judging by the look in those blood-red eyes, a _tiny_ bit pissed.

“Uh”, Tony said. “How are you feeling?”

Loki just looked at him, messy black hair hanging into his face. His eyes were angry, yes, but also oddly glazed over in a way that made Tony think that the Omega was still a bit out of it. There were also deep purple bags beneath them that showed that Loki was goddamn exhausted, too. Of course he was, having to make it through two weeks of heat would wear everyone out.

Tony didn’t quite manage to hold his gaze for very long. “I’m sorry”, he said, because somehow that felt like the best thing to start with. “this, uh… I know this could have been… better.”

Loki blinked very slowly, then closed his eyes. “I will shout at you later”, he promised, his voice raspy and quiet, as far away from its usual velvety smoothness as possible. He also slurred the words a little, as if he was only half awake.

“Alright”, Tony agreed lightly. “Yeah, you can totally do that. But for now, let’s get you to the bathroom, okay?”

Loki made a displeased sound and turned his face into the mattress again, but after a few seconds he nodded. Tony let out a relieved breath; Loki being willing to cooperate was a good sign, right?

“Okay”, Tony said, standing up, “c’mon, then. Can you sit up?”

Loki nodded again and began to move, but he didn’t even make it into something close to a sitting position before Tony had to reach out and steady him. Loki hissed at the contact and flinched, but didn’t try to shake off Tony’s hands. He did stare down at them, though, and Tony waited anxiously for some kind of reaction to the blue skin, but Loki just looked up again after a moment, unbothered. His eyes were even glassier when they met Tony’s gaze again, and Tony only just managed to keep from frowning when he realized that Bruce was probably right. Loki indeed didn’t seem to have noticed that he’d turned into a smurf. Or maybe he just didn’t mind, but that was very fucking unlikely, given what Thor had told Tony when he’d asked about this.

Tony knew now that the Jotnar were considered monsters by the Aesir and that Loki had grown up despising and fearing them, only to find out that he himself was one of them. Which had lead up to a ton of shit Thor hadn’t been that keen to tell Tony about. And actually, Tony hadn’t cared and still didn’t; Loki’s past wasn’t any of his business as long as Loki didn’t decide otherwise. He hadn’t told Thor details about the whole heat thing, either, he had just wanted to know if Loki needed anything special in his Jotun form. It had turned out that Thor had read up about it a little. He’d been able to tell Tony a few things about what Jotnar liked and needed to eat and drink, but that hadn’t been of much use so far since Loki hadn’t eaten all that much during his heat. They had lowered the temperature on Loki’s floor, though; it was fucking freezing in here.

Loki didn’t seem to mind. The contrary seemed to be the case, actually; it looked like the warmth of Tony’s hands on his cold skin made him uncomfortable. He still let it happen when Tony began to maneuver him to the bathroom. He wanted to get Loki into the tub, but the god freed himself out of Tony’s grab with little effort and staggered to the toilet, causing Tony to raise his brows and then look at the very, very interesting ceiling for a while. Loki would have hated this if he’d been in his right mind, and Tony was determined to spare them both the awkwardness of him having to explain later why he’d watched Loki relieve himself. If Loki would remember anything of this, which Tony had the uncomfortable feeling he would. It did look like Loki was half asleep, though. He'd seemed somewhat clear just five minutes ago, but watching Loki now as he got into the bathtub made Tony doubt that the god was actually thinking clearly. His movements were sluggish, his red eyes wide and glassy, but he still looked oddly content. Now, Tony didn't know all that much about heats, but Bruce had told him enough that he knew that this was more or less normal. Loki was exhausted and his body was coming down from a high that hadn’t been any fun at all, and the whole time he'd probably felt helpless and desperate and alone. Hell, he'd probably been _scared_. He’d asked for Tony, Bruce had said. And well, Tony was finally here, so Loki's instincts were probably telling him that he was safe now, so he was finally starting to relax after two very shitty weeks.

Tony honestly didn't know how he felt about that. He liked and hated it at the same time, because he knew that he didn't deserve it. In truth, Loki was pissed at him, and this trust, this contentment was only… heat-induced. Loki was letting his guard down in a way that he would hate and regret as soon as he was rested, and Tony didn't like that.

But that didn’t change the fact that Loki seemed to want him to be here right now. And since he hadn't yet tried to undress Tony again, he felt like he could stay. He realized that Loki was looking at him, expectant, and Tony forced himself to stop thinking.

“You want me to…?”

Loki nodded, and with a sigh Tony rolled up his sleeves and sat down on the edge of the tub, flinging one leg into it so that Loki could lean against it. He ran his fingers through Loki’s hair to get them out of his face and, to distract himself, asked JARVIS to tell Bruce that the bedroom was clear now. His words staggered a little when Loki sighed and leaned into his touch, head turning until he could rub his face against Tony’s palm like a reeking, overgrown cat.

“You smell good”, Loki told him, his voice so hoarse that it was barely audible, and yeah, Tony began to understand what Bruce had meant with _cuddly._

“Yeah, I know.”

He took his hand away as casually as he could and grabbed the shower head instead. Loki hummed and leaned against Tony’s leg, writhing a little when Tony started to wash his hair. At first Tony thought he looked comfortable, but then Loki let out an almost angry hiss and tried to move away from the water, and Tony understood all at once what might be the problem.

“Oh hell, I’m sorry, here, let me -” He hurried to turn the water as cold as possible (he’d just made it hot by force of habit) and looked down at Loki, worried. “Better?” Loki nodded and relaxed again, and Tony swallowed and proceeded to wash him.

So, yes - this was definitely a new level of weird. Here he was, washing his post-heat alien Omega whose body temperature was similar to that of an ice cube. And he _enjoyed_ it, because during the last days he’d wanted nothing more than be with Loki, give him anything he needed, make sure he was safe and happy, and it felt good to be finally there for him. This was also a major case of déjà-vu.

Just when Tony was done washing Loki's hair, there was a knock on the door. He'd left it ajar, but Bruce was obviously too polite to just poke his head inside.

“Guys?”

“We're fine”, Tony called back.

“Okay”, Bruce answered, sounding relieved. “I put food on the nightstand.”

“Great!” Tony looked down at Loki, who opened one eye to look back at him. “Hey, Bruce - wait a moment.”

Bruce didn’t reply, but Tony knew he was waiting, so he got out of the tub and grabbed a towel to dry his ice cold hands.

“I'll be right back”, he told the god with a smile. Loki seemed a bit annoyed, but he still nodded and reached out for the shampoo bottles. Washing himself was an option, then.

Tony went back to the bedroom and found Bruce standing next to the bed, the dirty sheets still in his arms. The bed was freshly made.

“Everything okay?”, Bruce asked, concerned eyes flickering to the bathroom door.

“Uh. Well, he’s still blue and high and wanted me to wash his hair and I am panicking a bit, but apart from that, yeah, everything’s fine.”

“He’s not high”, Bruce immediately said. “Just tired and worn out, he has barely slept the last two weeks.” He gestured at the nightstand with a nod of his head. “There’s food. Make him eat, at least a little, and then let him sleep. He’ll be fine in two days, at the latest.”

“Okay.” Tony looked at Bruce and after a moment the scientist raised a brow, causing Tony to add, “it won’t always be like this, right?” Bruce blinked, and Tony hurried to continue. “He can’t just - _miss_ two whole weeks every time he’s in heat. That’s horrible, and he’ll hate it.”

“Yes, I know. This was… extreme, even for a first heat.” Bruce shifted the sheets in his arms, frowning a bit. “But it was suppressed for very long, so maybe that’s the reason, but Jotun heats could also just be like that. We just have to see what the next one will be like. Maybe we can -” He cut himself off to stifle a yawn, and when he tried to begin again, Tony shook his head.

“I’m sorry, we should - we should talk about this later. There’s nothing we can do right now, anyway.” He patted his friend’s shoulder. “Go and get some sleep, alright?”

Bruce smiled and nodded. “Yeah, okay. Let me know if you need me, though.”

“I will”, Tony promised, and Bruce shuffled out of the room while Tony slipped back into the bathroom.

Loki wasn’t in the bathtub anymore, but instead sitting on the closed toilet with a towel wrapped around his body. He looked half asleep, but opened his eyes when he heard Tony enter.

“Hey, are you okay?”

Loki nodded tiredly and looked down at his feet, frowning. Tony followed his gaze and watched how the god wriggled his black-nailed toes for a moment, then sighed and made the last steps over to Loki. He should probably be thankful that Loki hadn’t fallen and cracked his head when he’d gotten out of the tub.

“C’mon, Rock of Ages. Off to bed.” Tony helped Loki up, then brought him back to the bedroom. Loki left the towel on the floor and moved to crawl into bed, but Tony kept him from lying down by putting the tray Bruce had brought on the god’s lap.

“Here. Eat, okay?”

Loki frowned down at the bowl of soup. “I’m not hungry”, he said. His voice was firmer than earlier, but not by very much.

“Just a bit”, Tony urged, and Loki gave in with a sigh. His hand was trembling a little as he grabbed the spoon and began to eat, very slowly. He managed about half of the soup before he set the tray aside. He downed a glass of water, then curled up on his side and was obviously ready to sleep.

Tony sat next to him on the bed and looked down at the Omega, trying to figure out what he should do. “Hey, Loki?” The only response he got was a barely audible hum. “Do you want me to stay?”

A long pause, then, “Yes.” It was said quietly but firmly, and Tony swallowed and nodded, even though Loki wasn’t looking.

“Okay, then.”

He lay down himself and began to stare at the ceiling. He hadn’t slept well the last two weeks, either, and he _was_ tired, but he still doubted that he would fall asleep quickly, if at all. Loki smelled like he was a bit more content, though, and his steady breaths were calming.

“I hope you don’t want to leave when you feel better”, Tony muttered, then sighed and forced himself to close his eyes. “Because that would suck.”

 

xxx

 

Loki didn’t want to be awake. He was wrapped up in a comfortably cold cocoon of affectionsafety _home_ , and even though it felt like he’d already slept for a week, he wanted to stay in bed for at least another few days. His body was still sore, especially his lower parts, He was alone in bed, but Anthony’s smell was fresh and grounding in the air and Loki knew he couldn’t be far.

It was thirst that made Loki open his eyes eventually, though he did it only reluctantly. He licked his lips, feeling how dry they were, and let out a relieved breath when he spotted a glass with water on the nightstand. He propped himself up on his elbow and reached out for it, and every thought of water or thirst was immediately banned from his mind.

He stared at his arm. At the raised lines that led all the way up to the back of his hand. Loki turned his hand, spread his fingers, watched how the black nails (claws) reflected the dim light of the bedside lamp. All at once, he was wide awake, and the memories of the last two weeks came back with a force that knocked the air out of his lungs.

Loki stumbled out of bed and pushed open the door to the bathroom with a trembling hand. He came to stand in front of the mirror, supporting himself on the sink, and stared at a reflection he had never seen before.

Oddly enough, it was still his face. He felt like it should be that of a stranger, but no, he just saw the same features he’d worn as long as he could remember - high cheekbones and thin lips beneath a nose that was the tiniest bit crooked. His cheekbones, his lips, his nose.

But the colors were all wrong.

He forgot to breathe as he stared at himself. At the deep blue of his skin, the lines drawing semi circles on his forehead, the eyes that were just as horrifying as those of every Jotun he’d ever seen.

A Jotun. Freezing skin and bloody eyes.

Shock and shame made Loki feel numb. His thoughts were running slow. He couldn’t even think of putting his glamour back into place; the only thing he could do was stand there and stare and hate his reflection with every fibre of his being.

He remembered noticing that he had changed into _this_ , two days after this nightmare of a heat had started. He remembered the bedroom cooling down all of a sudden, remembered icy fingers and frost on the bed sheets. The cold had been a blessing - for just a few moments, then he’d realizes that the heat inside of him was still there, tearing at him. The arousal had been blinding, all-consuming, and his blue skin had been the least of his worries. He’d noticed, but not cared, not even when the arousal had faded and left him with an exhaustion so crushing that he’d been sure he would die.

But now, he did care. He remembered warm hands on his naked skin, washing him, and cringed with shame. And before that; a careful voice telling him that he could do whatever he needed to do, that resisting was pointless but that it would all be fine, _everything is going to be fine._ Banner. That had been Banner. Loki knew his smell well, by now. He’d been there all the time. He’d even seen Loki pleasure himself a few times; in the beginning he’d barely managed to stop long enough to drink some water.

Loki would never be able to look at Banner again. At either of them, because Anthony - Anthony hadn’t been there the whole time, but at the very beginning he _had_ been there, and even though the memories were blurry Loki knew what had happened, what he had tried to do. What he had wanted, and would want again as soon his next heat would come.

He’d been angry at Anthony, earlier. Because he hadn’t been there. Because he’d promised he would stay and then had left. And Loki was still angry. Angry at Anthony and Banner, because they hadn’t warned him it would be like this, because this had happened in the first place, because he hadn’t been able to tell them what he wanted, what he _really_ wanted. But mostly, he was angry at himself - for being what he was, for not being able to change it. The fear was bone-deep. He knew that this would never stop. It was a part of him, it was just what he _was_ , and he hated that what he was had stripped him off every ounce of dignity he’d had in a matter of two weeks.

Loki closed his eyes when he heard steps in his bedroom. Steps that approached him far too quickly, then Anthony’s smell getting stronger in the air and his voice, and Loki wanted, more than anything, to curl up somewhere and die.

“Loki? Hey, are you okay?”

Loki opened his eyes again and looked down at his hands that were gripping the sink so tightly that the knuckles were light blue. He clenched his jaw. There was movement in the mirror, and Loki looked up to see Anthony appearing behind him and already reaching out for him.

“Don’t”, Loki grit out, and Anthony froze, his eyes wide and worried. He grinned crookedly, then; a small and awkward thing that flickered out almost instantly again.

“So, uh. Is this were the shouting happens? You look like you want to shout at someone.”

Loki didn’t mean to lash out at him - or well, perhaps he did, but he certainly didn’t decide to do it before he did it. In fact, he only realized that he’d acted when Anthony stumbled backwards and fell to the ground, pushed away by a blast of magic that had been beyond Loki’s control. A sort of magic that wasn’t green or gold like usual, but white and cold and the most frightening thing Loki had ever seen.

His vision blurred. He sucked in a sharp breath and tried to steady himself by tightening his hold on the sink, but that didn’t keep the room from turning around him. The room just kept spinning and it felt like there was a hole in the ground that threatened to swallow him up whole. He heard Anthony say something but couldn’t understand _what_ he was saying and his chest was too tight and the room was too warm and he felt so _filthy_ \- He couldn’t stand looking into the mirror again, he couldn’t stand being _there_ at all, and then Anthony was touching him, even though Loki had asked him _not_ to touch him, and telling him to breathe and he was smelling of worry and fear and affectionsafety _home_ and Loki couldn’t -

When Loki’s legs gave in, Anthony sank down to the floor with him without hesitation.


	13. Chapter 13

 

“... read somewhere that their poop is cube-shaped, and I know I shouldn't find that adorable, because it's poop. But I still think it's cute. I'm also a bit worried, though, because shitting cubes can't be that comfortable? But then there's gotta be a reason why they do that, so it's probably alright and they’re not in pain whenever they poop. Because that would suck, and mother nature doesn't not think things through like that, right?”

A brief pause. There was worry in the air, the good kind. The kind that smelled sharp and good and grounding, because someone was there, and that someone cared. Anthony's shirt crinkled beneath his cheek as Loki turned his head. He breathed in the human's scent. He could hear his heartbeat, calm and steady. Anthony continued his tale of nonsense, and Loki listened.

They were huddled up on the bathroom tiles. He didn't remember if he'd just sagged against Anthony's body or if he had been pulled into this embrace, and he didn't actually care. It was uncomfortable and awkward because Anthony's limbs were so much shorter, but it was also good. Loki knew how to breathe again.

He still remembered what happened, though. And even if he would have loved to just stay like this, tugged against Anthony’s side and listening to the human’s blissful rambling, Loki was soon getting restless. Being so close to Anthony was good, until it was suddenly too much. Anthony immediately stopped talking when Loki slowly sat upright and moved a few inches away from him.

“Hey”, Anthony said softly. “Are you -”

“I would like to take a shower”, Loki interrupted. He didn’t bother to clear his throat, even though his voice was raspy. He still felt filthy, and the shame about having broken down like that didn’t do anything to soothe him right now. He needed some time alone, to clear his head, and Anthony seemed to understand that.

“Yeah, sure. We can talk as soon as you’re ready. You want me to wait in the living room?”

Loki nodded.

“Are you okay with Bruce being there, too?”

Another nod - at the moment, Loki didn’t actually care. He just wanted to be left alone for a while. Thankfully, Anthony stood up pretty quickly and only briefly hesitated, as if he wanted to say something else but didn’t know what. After a moment he just left the bathroom, leaving the door slightly ajar behind himself.

It took another few minutes until Loki managed to stand up. His legs felt weak and wobbly as he stepped into the shower and he had to support himself on the wall the whole time, but he didn’t want to sit down, fearing that he wouldn’t manage to get up on his feet again. He needed to turn the water as cold as possible for it to be comfortable, and he tried not to think about why. He kept his eyes closed, too, and avoided looking into the mirror when he got out of the shower again. It hadn’t actually helped to make him feel better, and he wondered if he would ever feel completely clean again. When he took on clothes, the fabric scraped over the raised lines that were all over his body. His skin was itching.

Loki sat down on his bed, his eyes still closed, and called upon his magic. In the past weeks he'd gotten used to the barrier that was still there and kept him from using his powers however he wished, and while he wasn't able to perform complicated spells because they still demanded too much energy, he could use his magic well enough. He hoped that it would suffice to put his glamour back into place. It had faded, not because his spell had failed, but because his body had _needed_ it to fail and his magic had given in. He wasn't sure why.

It took him a few tries. He was exhausted and agitated, and his magic didn't immediately do as he wished. But eventually he could feel warmth break through his skin and flood his whole body, making his toes tingle and curl against the ground. He let out a relieved breath and opened his eyes to glance down at himself. His skin was pale and smooth again, no ridged lines or black claws instead of fingernails. Loki slowly moved his fingers and stared at them.

Almost two weeks. He'd never spent that much time in his Jotun form before. Two weeks were nothing against the the millennium he had lived as an Aesir, but apparently it had still been enough - enough to make this, _his_ skin feel unfamiliar. Too warm.

Loki clenched his teeth and dismissed the feeling by putting his shoulders back and lifting his head. There was a mirror in the door of the closet, and Loki caught a glimpse of himself as he walked out of the room - almost white skin, black hair, green eyes. This was the reflection he knew. He never wanted to see the other one again.

He was still a bit weak on his feet when he left his bedroom and followed the sound of voices. Anthony and Banner were in the kitchen, standing at the stove and making, judging by the smells, breakfast. Anthony was whining about his own cooking skills that apparently left a lot to be desired. (Which wasn’t actually true; he had cooked for Loki several times and it had never been that bad.) Banner, who had just been nodding along, was the first to notice Loki and look over his shoulder. He nudged Anthony with his elbow to stop him from talking, and a second later they were both staring at Loki. He ignored it and sat down at the counter. Shame hadn’t made him blush in decades, but now he could feel his face heating up. Briefly he contemplated standing up so he could go and hide in his bedroom again, but then Banner started to talk to him. The human was smiling.

“It’s nice to see you on your feet again. How are you feeling?”

“Wonderful, thank you.”

“The sarcasm is strong with this one”, Anthony said praisingly over his shoulder; he was still busy with cooking.

“Tony.”

“Sorry.” Anthony shoveled food on a plate and then turned around to set it in front of Loki on the counter. “Here. Bruce says you have to eat.”

“Does he?”, Loki asked, looking down at the plate full of bacon and eggs.

“Yes, he does”, Banner confirmed.

With a sigh, Loki grabbed the fork Anthony had placed next to the plate and began to eat. He was hungry, and at the same time felt like he wouldn't be able to keep any food down for a very long time. “What time is it?”

“Er, about six pm”, Banner answered. “You slept for almost two days.”

Loki swallowed down his first bite of bacon; it was good. “Breakfast at six pm?”

“I've always been a fan of breakfast for dinner”, Anthony said.

“That would just be dinner, then.”

“Yeah, that's a discussion people are having since the beginning of mankind.”

“I sort of doubt that”, Banner said. He'd taken three glasses out of a cupboard and was now pouring what looked like juice into all of them. He also took a bottle of water out of the fridge and put it in front of Loki, tapping the lid. “Here, drink this, too.”

Loki nodded. He avoided looking at either of them while he was eating, and they both stayed silent for a while. Anthony had filled plates for Banner and himself, but while Banner sat down next to Loki, Anthony remained standing and just picked at his food with little enthusiasm. Which Loki could understand; he didn't actually feel like eating either. But he _was_ hungry and the mixture of smells in the air was more calming than it should have been, and concentrating on eating was easier than pretty much everything else at the moment.

“You've done surprisingly little screaming so far”, Anthony broke the silence after a while, startling Loki into looking at him.

“Why should I scream at you?”, he asked, frowning both out of confusion and because he could hear the bitterness in his own voice.

“Uh.” Anthony exchanged glances with Banner before he said, “Because I fucked up?”

Loki looked at him blankly for a long moment. Fear was creeping up his spine and his fingers suddenly went so numb that he had to put fork and knife down. He tried to remember what had happened, and even though the memories were blurry he was sure that he could recall everything - he wanted to be sure, anyway, and he _had_ been sure only moments before, but now he wasn't anymore. He remembered the closeness, the cuddling, the kissing - _norns_ , the kissing - and after that only blind lust that he'd had to endure _alone_ ; and he had been alone, hadn't he? But what if -

“But you didn't do anything”, Loki said, spluttering the words in a way that he would have found embarrassing if his mind hadn't been on something else. “You left, I remember that you left, even though I - I would _know_ if we -”

“God, no, that's not what he means”, Banner interrupted, his tone concerned and a bit shocked. Loki just kept staring at Anthony, and only looked at the other human when Banner added, “Hey. Tony left before anything serious could happen and nobody touched you after that, I promise.”

“Oh my god”, Anthony said, and when Loki turned back to him again, the man avoided meeting his eyes. Only now Loki noticed that Anthony looked - and smelled - like a wreck, tired and miserable and, and that was a bit odd, _afraid._

Loki felt very sick suddenly. His fingers felt cold and stiff as he pushed the plate with his half finished breakfast away from him. He put both his hands into his lap, squeezing them between his thighs, to warm them up. It didn't work.

“We just kissed", Anthony said, directing the words at the table. His voice was strained, his shoulders tense. “And cuddled, I guess, but that's all that happened, I swear. JARVIS can even show you the footage if you'd like.”

“I don't want to see the footage”, Loki said at once. The thought alone made him want to retch.

“Right, fair enough.” Anthony brought a hand up to wipe his face, then ran it through his hair. “Look, I know this is… fucked up. Nothing went the way it should have went, because we didn't talk about it beforehand, and I'm - I'm really sorry we didn't. It's my fault.”

“It's not alone -”, Banner began, but Anthony cut him off by shaking his head.

“No, it is”, he looked at Loki again, “We spent like most of our time together. I should've broached the topic, but I just - I didn't think about it, because I liked things how they were.” A brief pause, then, “That's what I meant when I said I fucked up. Nothing else.”

Loki just nodded, because everything he wanted to say refused to pass his lips. He wasn't angry anymore, at least not because of the things Anthony was apologizing for.

Anthony seemed to notice that, or maybe he could smell the lack of anger, because the next thing he said was, “I thought you'd be furious.”

The only response Loki managed was a stiff shrug. He stared at the countertop, trying to keep his face from getting red again.

“You promised you would scream at me, earlier.”

 _That_ almost made Loki snort. “That was because you left, even though you promised you wouldn't. I do not blame you for that now. It was… the most reasonable thing to do.” Loki swallowed. “You should have left immediately.”

“I'm sorry I -”

Loki shook his head. “I wanted you to stay. You could have done - anything to me, _anything_ you wished, I wouldn't have -” He nearly bit his tongue when he realized that his words still were, at least by his standards, an incoherent mess. There was little Loki hated more than being too agitated to express himself properly; it took a lot to bring him into this state, and he despised everything and everyone that was able to do so.

(Anthony might be the exception. He was able to render Loki speechless sometimes, too, and he certainly didn't despise him.)

Loki banned the thought from his mind and briefly closed his eyes, trying to get himself under control again.

“I would never do that to you”, Anthony said, unusually hesitant. “Or to anyone else, for that matter. Not without… you know, having talked about it.”

Loki nodded again because, yes, he _knew_ that. He trusted Anthony enough to know that, trusted him too much, in fact. And Banner, too, which was strange enough. But that he had come to trust them didn't change the fact that he hated that they had seen him like _that._

“Loki”, Banner said suddenly, but Loki didn't look at him. “There is no reason to be ashamed, okay? This was extreme, even for a first heat, and I know it was horrible for you, but everything you did was still… well, normal isn't quite the right word, but something along those lines. I think your next one will be better. Shorter too, probably.”

Loki pressed his lips together, then lifted his head to look at them again. “Neither of you will be there to witness it. Nobody will.”

Banner blinked, then frowned in obvious concern. “Are you sure? You still have time to -”

“I am sure.”

“Okay, then”, Anthony said, his tone too light. “It's your call, so if that's what you want - uh, you should probably let JARVIS make a scan now and then, so we know when your next heat is due. Maybe once a week?” He looked at Banner, who agreed that once a week should be enough, then back at Loki. “Okay?”

“Yes”, Loki said, even though he didn't like the thought of JARVIS _scanning_ him at all.

“JARVIS, make a new file for Loki's data”, Anthony ordered. “Put everything we already have in there, and only let Loki access it, Bruce and me just in medical emergencies. Voice verification.”

“ _Of course, Sir.”_

Anthony held Loki's gaze and said, “JARVIS, let me see that file, please.”

“ _A fake British accent doesn't make me mistake you for Loki, Sir_ ”, the AI deadpanned.

Anthony smirked. “Okay?”, he asked again, still looking at Loki.

“Yes”, Loki repeated. He knew that Anthony still had access to that file, at least in theory - he was JARVIS’ creator, after all -, but he understood what Anthony was telling him here, and he appreciated it. Privacy had always been something Loki placed great value on.

“Great, so that's settled.” Anthony let out a rush of breath. “I really need a drink.”

“We just had breakfast”, Banner said.

“Nice try, Bruceybear.”

Anthony headed off to Loki's bar. He was the only one who ever used it, since Banner didn't drink out of reasons Loki didn't know and Loki didn't drink because Midgardian spirits had very little effect on him. Loki looked after him for only a moment and couldn't keep himself from wrinkling his nose; Anthony _reeked_ of guilt. Loki didn't like it and at the same time he _did_ , because - because it meant that Anthony cared, yes? Nobody had cared in what felt like a very, very long time. Of course Loki liked that ridiculous human. Of course he wanted him, of course he was _falling_ for him.

The sudden realization hit Loki right in the chest. He frowned and forced himself to look away from Anthony again. He'd known before that he desired the man, but somehow he had still thought that it was just that - desire. The need to possess, even; Anthony was a remarkable human and Loki didn't like to share. Affection, though? That was… unexpected.

But not entirely unwelcome.

“Loki?”

Loki blinked and looked at Banner, who was still sitting next to him and watching him with the usual careful look in his eyes. “Yes?”

The scientist hesitated, but after a moment he said, “Okay, I don't mean to, ah, impose, but it seems like you haven't noticed, so… You changed forms again?”

Loki felt his eyes widen, then looked down at his hands and lifted them off his hands, spreading his fingers in the light of the kitchen lamp.

Blue.

Again.

Loki didn't even think when he stood up, he just knew that he didn't want to, _shouldn't_ be in anyone's company when he looked like this. Banner called after him, concerned, but that didn't keep him from leaving the room. Or from trying to, anyway, because what did hold him back was a too warm hand on his too cold arm.

“Hey, it's alright, you can stay if -”

“Do _not_ touch me.”

Anthony immediately let go of Loki’s arm again and lifted his own hands. “Sorry, I just -

“No”, Loki snarled, not entirely sure what he was saying no to. He didn’t want to hear any more apologies, maybe that was it, or maybe he just wanted Anthony to shut up altogether and leave already, because the latter was going to happen at some point, anywhere.

That last thought came almost out of nowhere, almost unexpected, almost enough to make Loki’s knees weak. But he didn’t let that happen, because he’d broken down in front of Anthony once today already and twice would be two times too much.

“I just want you to know that we don’t care”, Anthony finished his sentence, his gaze concerned but steady, just as steady as his hands that were still up in the air, trying to convince Loki that he wasn’t a threat. “About the whole turning blue thing, I mean. You being a Jotun, that’s o-”

“It’s not _okay_ !” Loki wanted Anthony to flinch at the sound of his suddenly raised voice, but he didn’t. It made Loki sneer, mostly at himself. “You know _nothing_ about the Jotnar, how dare you tell me that you don’t -”

“This isn’t about the fucking Jotnar”, Anthony cut him off, a little bit louder now himself. “This is about _you._ I don’t mind that _you_ are one of them, no matter what they’re like, no matter what they did, no matter what _you_ did.” He sucked in a sharp breath, his hands sinking, curling into fists. “That’s all I want you to know. I don’t care, I don’t mind. And Bruce doesn’t, either. He literally turns green himself now and then, for fuck’s sake.”

Loki could feel bitterness rising up his throat, and he briefly wondered if he was getting nauseous. “You can’t even imagine everything I did.”

“You can’t imagine some things we did, either, probably”, Banner chimed in again. He’d left the kitchen by now, too, but was still standing a few steps away from them, in safe distance. He looked tense, and that unsettling note in his scent had gotten a bit stronger. “You are not the only one with a past here, you know.”

“I sincerely doubt that _yours_ can compare to -”

“Okay, God Complex”, Anthony said. “This isn’t a competition for who’s made the most terrible decisions, okay? We’re not telling you that we don’t _mind_ what you did or that we approve of it. It’s just that we like you, anyway, so we all have to deal.”

Somehow, hearing that briefly made Loki speechless, but then he scoffed. “ _Like._ You cannot like someone without knowing them.”

“Good thing we do know you, then”, Anthony parried. “And good thing you know us, too. We’ve been living together for the last months, after all. And hey, we’re gonna be living together for a while longer, so if you feel like we still don’t _know_ each other well enough, you’ve got every chance to _get to know us._ ”

“Well, I don’t have much of a chance, have I?”, Loki said sharply, and Anthony’s expression darkened.

“You can leave if you want.”

“Oh, of course. Trying to get rid of me in a more direct approach than last time, are we?”

“I’m not trying to get rid of you.”

“My mistake, it certainly seems that way.”

“I _certainly_ won’t hold you back now, asshole, so you can fuck off for all I care.”

“Maybe I will.”

“Maybe you should.”

“Fine!”

“Yes, fine!”

“Could you _please_ both shut up?”

They both turned their heads to look at Banner.

“You are aware that you’re behaving like idiots, right?”, he asked, looking impressively exasperated. “No one of us is going to go anywhere, as far as I’m concerned. But being a pack _will_ be goddamn exhausting if you two don’t get it together anytime soon.”

“I’m gonna get plastered”, Anthony announced suddenly, throwing one last angry-bitter-hurt look at Loki before he ran off.

“Tony, could you _not_ -”

“We can talk when I’m sober again”, Anthony snapped, and then he was gone. He barked something at JARVIS, loud enough for them to hear it in the living room.

Then it went awfully silent. Banner sighed and looked back at Loki. He shuffled his feet a little, but before he could say anything, Loki broke the loaded silence.

“Being a _pack_?”

Banner turned a bit pale.

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (I'm so sorry, Bruce.)
> 
> Oh, and if anyone's wondering - Tony is talking about wombats in the beginning. You know, like one does.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *gasp* Oh look, a new chapter! Sorry it took me so long! Again! Oops.
> 
> All thanks go to the lovely people in the FrostIron discord server, because without them I probably wouldn't have had the motivation and energy to edit and post this tonight. ❤
> 
> Also, this might just be one of the softest chapters of the story. Tony's the one with the mushy brain for a change. xD Enjoy!

Tony woke up to a cold hand running through his hair, gently coaxing him out of sleep. The touch of those cool fingers against his scalp soothed the sharp pain behind his temples a little, but since his head still felt like it was going to explode in the foreseeable future, Tony decided going back to sleep was his best option. Sadly, there was a soft voice that seemed to belong to the hand, and it wouldn’t let him fall asleep again.

“Anthony”, it whispered directly into his ear, “If you do not get up in the next five seconds, I will plaster the image of Rogers’ shield over all of your favorite band shirts.”

Tony frowned against the surface his forehead was leaning against. “Wouldn’t do somethin’ that cruel”, he murmured. The words were barely recognizable as words, but Loki seemed to understand him perfectly, anyway.

“I have done crueler things that were far less fun, so be assured that I would. Get up and take a shower, _now_.”

Tony made a reluctant sound and squeezed his eyes shut.

“Anthony”, Loki said again.  “I need to talk to you.”

“‘s early.”

“It is four in the afternoon. You have had by far enough time to… do this. Whatever it is you are doing.”

Turning his head into the direction of Loki’s voice, Tony opened one of his eyes. He immediately closed it again because fucking hell, light was _not_ good for his headache, but after some blinking and wincing he managed to look at Loki. The god was crouching on the floor right next to Tony and watched him with a very unimpressed look on his face.

“Still blue”, Tony said, because that was the first thing that crossed his mind.

“Yes, and I would like to stop being blue as soon as possible, so if you please -”

“Didn’t you want to leave?”

“No”, Loki told him firmly, sounding a tiny bit less annoyed.

“Oh.”

Loki hummed and took his hand away from Tony’s hair. “You stink.”

Tony sighed and straightened his back, trying to ignore his steady headache and the turmoil in his stomach. He hadn’t been this hungover in ages. He hadn’t drunk this much in ages, though, so that made sense.

They were sitting in his living room, on the floor between the sofa and the table, on which Tony had been resting his arms and head on. The light was still glary and hurt in his eyes, and the only thing Tony wanted was to lie down on a preferably, but not necessarily horizontal and soft surface and pass out again. But Loki was right there next to him, looking tired and still a bit pissed, and Tony supposed he was right - they really should talk.

That didn’t mean he couldn’t whine a little more, though.

“My head hurts. My back, too. And something died in my mouth.”

Loki didn’t even roll his eyes at him. He just pushed a glass into Tony’s direction and dropped something small in the clear water. “Here. Bruce told me to give you this.”

Painkillers, oh, thank god. Well, thank Bruce. Wait. _Bruce_?

“Bruce?”, Tony repeated outloud.

“Yes. You have met him, I think.” Loki glanced pointedly at the glass. “Drink.”

Tony frowned, but he still obeyed and downed the water. “Since when do you call him Bruce?”

Loki was about to answer, but then he looked at Tony properly and closed his mouth again, frowning.

“What?”, Tony asked.

“You’re jealous.”

“Am not.”

“I can smell it”, Loki told him. He averted his eyes for a moment, and since Tony was too much a mess right now to be actually worried - he was _not_ jealous, thank you very much -, he let his forehead meet the tabletop again. Loki didn’t seem pleased by that. He sighed, grabbed Tony’s arm and pulled until Tony was on his feet. Loki steered him towards the bathroom, ignoring his whining expertly. He leaned Tony against the wall, keeping his hands on his shoulders for a few seconds as if to make sure that Tony wouldn’t collapse without Loki’s help. The god seemed equally annoyed and worried, and if Tony hadn’t liked the attention a little bit too much, he would have informed Loki that he’d been hungover before and didn’t need to be pampered.

“Couldn’t you just heal my hangover?”, Tony wanted to know when Loki opened the bathroom door. “Like, magically?”

“I already did.”

“But I'm still in pain?”

“I made it a _little_ better before you woke up”, Loki said flippantly. “Anything more would be a waste of magic. As you can see, my powers are still limited at the moment.”

“I don’t mind it when you’re blue.”

“It’s not about you”, Loki snapped, then jerked his head to indicate that Tony should get into the bathroom if he didn’t want to be screamed at by his annoyed Omega. “Take a shower.”

“Help me?”

Loki was not impressed by that. “I am not washing your hair”, he said firmly, and after giving Tony another pointed look, he stalked back into the living room.

“I washed your hair _twice_ ”, Tony called after him, pouting, but Loki ignored him.

Tony stood in front of the bathroom a little longer, then walked in and closed the door behind him. He did reek a bit, and he _really_ wanted to brush his teeth. So he did that, frowning at himself in the mirror.

“Did he and Bruce talk or something?”, he asked around the toothbrush in his mouth.

“ _Yes, Sir. Would you like to see the footage?”_

Tony shook his head.

“ _Maybe you would like to know that Dr. Banner told him that you are a pack?”_

“He did _what_?!” Tony blurted out, toothpaste foam running down his chin. He spit out and put the toothbrush away.

“ _He did that already when you were still present_ ”, JARVIS informed him, too polite to sound amused. “ _You didn't realize it, I think._ ”

“Oh my god.”

“ _He took it well, all things considered. Dr. Banner explained the consequences and made clear that Loki does not have to stay, should that be not want he wants._ ”

“Oh my god", Tony said again. He sat down on the closed toilet and tried not to panic.

“ _I really think Loki does not mind”,_ JARVIS said. He sounded concerned. “ _You should be fine as long as you don't try to order him around._ ”

“Order him - why would I - he _does not mind_ , my ass, I made him a part of this pack without talking to him about it, how can you say he -”

“ _Sir, breathe. It wasn't you who_ made _him a part of your pack, you know that's not how it works. It is a natural process even you can't control. Talk to Loki, I promise that he does not want to leave._ ”

Tony sat on the toilet lid and stared into space, trying to catch his breath and _not_ freak out. He rubbed his eyes and said flatly, “You can't promise something like that.”

There was a pause, then Bruce's voice came out of the speakers. “ _I didn't think you would be so calm about this. I'm not sure if I should be worried._ ”

Someone snorted, and Tony knew immediately who it was. “ _Don't be._ ”

“ _So you're okay with it? Being a pack?_ ”

Loki took some time to answer, and when he did he sounded hesitant, but not really reluctant, maybe - maybe even _intrigued._ “ _I think I might be, in time. I'm not yet sure as to… what it actually means._ ”

“ _Just know that you have a choice, alright? If you want to leave -”_

 _“I don't_ ”, Loki interrupted, his tone firm, and the recording ended.

Tony sat in silence for a while. “Huh”, he said then.

“ _I still suggest talking to Loki about it_.”

“Yes”, Tony agreed slowly. “Yeah, sure. Thank you, JARVIS.”

“ _Anytime, Sir._ ” The AI's voice was gentle. “ _Maybe you would like to take a shower now, as you promised?”_

“Right.”

Tony nodded, then stood up and got undressed. The shower was already running when he stepped into it, the temperature just like JARVIS knew Tony liked when he was hungover. He washed himself thoroughly and ignored his still present headache, so when he eventually left the bathroom, he felt much more human again. Well, except for the exhaustion.

Loki was on the sofa, eating cheerios, and Tony was immediately reminded of that day months ago, when Loki had still been rather new in the tower and had discovered cheerios in his kitchen. It was a bit weird, how much had changed since then. At that time, Tony wouldn't have been comfortable with Loki sitting in his living room like that. But now he knew that the sofa cushions would smell like Loki when he was already back on his own floor, and that was - yeah. That was nice. Tony wanted his whole floor to smell like Loki. Or maybe he wanted _Loki's_ whole floor to smell like _Tony_. Probably a bit of both. A mix of LokiTony, that would be perfect, and Bruce's scent should be there, too. Actually, now that he thought about it, it kind of irked him that both of their floors didn't smell like all of them already.

That was probably a pack thing. A pack leader thing? God, Tony had to hug Loki. And Bruce. Because he liked them, and because he wanted them to smell like him. That was so weird, wasn't it? And possessive. He really didn't have the right to want that. He should -

“Do you want to eat something?”, Loki asked, and Tony realized that he was already standing in front of the sofa, staring at Loki.

The thought of food sort of made him want to puke. “Uh, no. Thanks.”

“Sit down”, Loki told him, and Tony sat down. Loki glanced at him, his brows drawn together. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah”, Tony said slowly. “Just…” Loki looked at him expectantly, and after a moment Tony lifted his shoulders and continued, “We're a pack.”

Loki looked at his bowl of cheerios, still frowning, and poked around in them a little. “Yes, Bruce told me.”

Tony tried not to wince, he really did. “Why do you call him Bruce suddenly?”

Loki gave him an annoyed look. “Because we are a pack. As far as I know, that is similar to a family -”

“It _is_ family. You are -”

“- and I do not want to call him by his last name anymore. He has been…” Loki's frown deepened and for a second it looked like he wanted to stab his cheerios with his spoon, but then he rolled his eyes, probably at himself, and said, “He has been kind to me.”

“Yes”, Tony agreed, because Bruce _had_ been kind to Loki.

“You have no reason to be jealous”, Loki said. “He is not my type.”

Tony blinked. “And who is?”

The look Loki gave him now practically declared Tony an idiot. “You.”

“Oh.”

Loki rolled his eyes and nodded, then proceeded to eat his cheerios. He always finished chewing before speaking. Tony found that oddly adorable.

“You would have told me, yes?”

“Told you what?”, Tony asked.

“That we are a pack.”

“Oh. Yes. I just - I guess I wanted to wait until you were… doing a bit better. Right after your heat, that was…”

“Not a good time to have sincere conversations, yes”, Loki said, nodding.

Tony nodded back at him. “Yes.”

Loki looked thoughtful. “Bruce says we should communicate more.”

“Well", Tony said. “Bruce is right most of the time.”

Loki hummed and nodded again. “I do not want to leave.”

“Yes, you - you said that.”

“I do not think you want to get rid of me, either”, Loki continued, not looking at Tony. “It is just… difficult.”

“I know”, Tony said. He was fidgeting around with the hem of his shirt. “It's difficult for me, too. I mean, I've never been in a proper pack before, and I've also never… had an Omega.”

Loki looked up again and narrowed his eyes at Tony. “You do not _have_ me. I'm not your property. If you -”

“I don't think you are my property”, Tony cut him off, maybe a bit too sharp. Loki was still glowering, and Tony sighed and rubbed his eyes. “You're nobody's property. That's just - I don't know, the way we say it.”

“You should change the way you say it, then.”

“Yeah, maybe we should.” Tony looked at Loki for a moment and realized that he really did not want to have this conversation, especially not while he was hungover. But nevertheless he said, “Look, if this is - if _we_ are going to be a thing, then I won't… I won't _not_ get possessive over you. A bit, at least. I can try to be as not-Alpha-y as possible, but I don't know if… if I'll manage.”

Loki held his gaze for a few seconds, then focused on his cheerios again. He bit his lip, apparently thinking, and that was definitely adorable, too. And hot. Tony realized that he _really_ didn't mind that Loki was blue, he was still gorgeous. A bit creepy, yes, what with the red eyes and all, but gorgeous.

“I do not mind a bit of... possessiveness”, Loki said eventually, very slowly. “I am possessive over my lovers, too.”

 _Lovers._ Had Loki just called them lovers? He had. Oh god. He'd also implied that he would be possessive over Tony, right? Tony's brain was too mushy and tired to deal with that. Which might be the reason his Alpha brain took over. It was practically purring.

“But what else would that entail?”, Loki asked. When Tony looked at him blankly, he added, “You being my… my Alpha.”

“Oh. Uh, well -” Tony tried to order his thoughts, and Loki waited patiently while he did that. Eventually, Tony said, “First of all, I… I'd want you to smell like me? And I wouldn't like it if you smelled like somebody else, probably. Except - yeah, Bruce would probably be okay, because he's in the same pack. And I, er… I would make sure that you… are okay, just, in general. That you have something to eat and stuff. That sounds ridiculous. I'd also defend you against threats, not like you're in need for that, but I - I would be, I _am_ at your side, no matter what, and I… I would try to take care of you. I'd touch you a lot. I'd want you to touch me a lot. And there's the, ah. The sex… thing.”

Loki blinked at him, slowly. “The sex thing”, he repeated.

Tony only just managed to stifle a whine. “I'm hungover. Don't expect me to be eloquent right now.”

“I never expect you to be eloquent.”

“Rude.”

“Yes”, Loki agreed and ate a spoonful of cheerios. “Explain.”

Tony sighed and shifted a little, more uncomfortable than he would have liked. Tony Stark didn't have _problems_ talking about sex, goddammit. Tony Stark loved talking about sex. The thing was… This was not about sex, not really. And that was a good place to start, right?

“It's not really about sex", he said, then shrugged, “I mean sure, it plays into it, but it's not the main point.”

“And what _is_ the main point?”, Loki prodded.

Tony took a breath. “Well, it's called… being mates, I guess. Mates are a bonded couple, they usually spend the rest of their lives together. Some people call it soulmates, but that romanticizes the whole thing a bit. Mating happens… well, both sides of the couple have to want it, obviously, and most have been together for a few years before they become mates. Apart from that, nobody actually knows what mating even is, it just… happens. Apparently during sex. It's weird.”

Loki seemed to process that for a while, then he asked, “Can we control that?”

“No, not really. I don't think so, at least.”

“Then I don't see why we should worry about that now”, Loki said decisively, and Tony almost smiled.

“I just thought you'd like to know”, he said. “Just in case.”

Loki nodded. “Anything else?”

“Hm?”

“If you were my Alpha. Is there anything else I should know about?”

“Uhm”, Tony made, thinking it over. “No, I don't think so. I'll tell you if I think of something else.”

Loki gave his assent with a nod. They were silent for a while. Loki continued eating and looked like he did some thinking, Tony mostly just tried to stay awake and refrain from puking onto the sofa.

“And what do you expect from me?”, Loki asked eventually. He was frowning a little again.

“What I…”, Tony began to repeat, but cut himself off. “I don't expect anything from you.”

Loki snorted. “Everybody expects something from everybody.”

“No.” When Loki gave him a skeptical glance, Tony said, “I mean, yes, fine, but this isn't a business deal. I just want to be with you.”

And that had come out a bit more raw and honest than intended, but, well. Judging by the surprised, almost shocked look in Loki's eyes, and then by his hesitant smile he tried to hide but couldn't, it had been just the right thing to say. Loki actually ducked his head a little. He was poking around in his cheerios again.

“That is fine, then”, he said quietly, and Tony had to smile, too.

Because, yeah. It was fine. He kind of wanted to kiss Loki, but he didn't know if Loki wanted to be kissed by him, and also he didn't want their first kiss to be while he was hungover. (Was that sappy? Maybe a bit.)

“I need to get rid of this shackle”, Loki said suddenly.

Tony glanced down at Loki's feet. The cuff was still sitting firmly around his ankle, and obviously still keeping him from using his magic properly. And that, yes, that really pissed Tony off, too. “Yes”, he said. “But how?”

“Bruce and I have come up with a plan.”

“Oh. Okay, cool.”

Loki smirked at him, which was nice. “Do you not want to know _what_ plan we came up with?”

“Sure”, Tony said. “I'm just really tired right now. I have a hangover. And I slept, like. Three hours.”

“ _Two hours and forty-two minutes, Sir._ ”

“Two hours and forty-two minutes”, Tony corrected with a nod. “Yes.”

Loki looked almost fond. No, he looked definitely fond. That was also nice. “I see”, he said, and he sounded amused, too. “Rest, then. We have time.”

Tony nodded, hesitated, then asked, “Can you - I mean, do you want to stay? Here?”

“Yes”, Loki said simply, then tapped on the spot on the sofa right next to him. “Lie down, then.”

Tony complied and curled up on the sofa next to Loki, taking care not to touch the god. But then Loki told him to stop being ridiculous, which Tony took as permission to rest his head on Loki's lap, which it apparently was because Loki didn't complain. He just told JARVIS to put on some movie. A second later he threw a blanket over Tony. A blanket that hadn't been there earlier.

“Waste of magic”, Tony murmured.

“Hush”, Loki told him.

Loki's cold fingers started to play with his hair, and Tony drifted off to sleep.

  
  
  



	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two new warnings in the tags! It sounds worse than it is, I think, but I thought I'd tag things, just to be sure.

Their plan was simple.

It found them - Loki, Anthony and Bruce - sitting in one of Anthony’s quinjets at two am in the morning, on the way to a country named England. Loki had never been, obviously, but he’d heard of it from Anthony, who claimed that Loki’s way of speaking was strikingly similar to “a Brit’s”. Still, the face he had made when Anthony had told them about their destination must have been rather clueless, because Bruce had started giving him a probably not that brief summary of historic events neither Loki nor Anthony had had any interest in hearing in the middle of the night. Bruce hadn’t managed more than a few sentences, then Anthony had cut him off with a pat on the back and the announcement that he would “make himself comfortable in the cockpit and try not to fall asleep again”. Loki didn’t believe that the risk of Anthony falling asleep was particularly high; he could see how tense the Alpha was. They were all tense, and it didn’t have anything to do with the fact that they had been called out of bed rather ungently.

Almost two months had passed since Loki’s heat, and he had recovered by now, with one _tiny_ exception. He couldn’t muster enough seidr to put his glamour back into place for longer than twenty minutes or so, which meant that his skin was still blue, his eyes still red, his nails still black. It was unnerving and mortifying, and Loki hated it with every fibre of his being. It was also one of the reasons, if not _the_ reason why they were flying over the sea the humans called North Atlantic at the moment. Anthony had made an effort to get in contact with the soldier during the last weeks, and apparently it hadn’t been that hard to convince him to accept Anthony’s and Bruce’s help with the next mission. They hadn’t been on a mission with their so called team in quite a while, because they hadn’t been that keen to let Midgard’s other heroes in on the fact that two of these heroes were now in a pack with somebody who had only recently tried to take over their world. (It had actually stung a little when they had told Loki that, but he could understand the reasoning. Besides, Anthony hadn’t deliberately made that decision, not really, since he had learned about their being a pack at about the same time as Loki himself, and Bruce had simply went with Anthony’s explanation that he preferred to stay in the tower, or rather with Loki.) In just a few hours, Rogers and the others would know that they were a pack and, more importantly, that _Loki_ was a part of that pack.

Oddly enough, that didn’t bother Loki. A part of him knew that he should be worried, because casting him out would be the reasonable, the safe thing to do, but he knew that neither Anthony nor Bruce would let that happen, no matter what the other heroes would tell them. They would stand at Loki’s side and Loki would stand at their side, and that was a fact. Loki didn’t, couldn’t doubt it, even though he didn’t really understand _why_ he was so sure of their loyalty. It had something to do with instincts, according to Bruce, because now that they all knew and accepted that they were pack members, their bond was getting stronger. Whatever that exactly meant. _We just match_ , Anthony had said, with a half-shrug and a lopsided smile. Loki had liked that explanation better. They just matched, and it wasn’t bad that they did. It wasn’t bad at all.

Anthony and Bruce didn’t care that he wasn’t an Aesir. That made sense, in a way, because humans had no idea what the Jotnar were like. Loki didn’t intend to tell them. He was aware, though, that he might not get around telling Anthony what he had done, because if they really were to be _mates_ , Anthony deserved to know. Everything.

But so far Anthony had not asked, and since he hadn’t told Loki anything about his past without being asked, either, Loki hoped that they would still have some time to… get used to each other. Because neither of them knew how to handle this not exactly new, but not anymore unspoken _thing_ between them. They spent a lot of time together, yes, and they touched a lot, too - Loki had found that it was rather comfortable to rest his head on Anthony’s shoulder when they watched movies, and Anthony’s hands were more or less constantly somewhere on Loki when they were together, anyway. Only chaste touches, to Loki’s surprise - Anthony brushed his fingertips against Loki’s hands or arms, played with his hair, bumped their shoulders when they were in the kitchen, sat next to him when they ate just so he could nudge Loki’s feet beneath the table now and then. It should have been annoying, maybe, and when Loki was in a bad mood, it could be, but most of the time it was just… nice. Even though Anthony’s hands were so much warmer than Loki’s own skin, even though he would never allow anybody else to touch him while he was in his Jotun form. Loki liked being touched by Anthony, and he liked that they had started smelling like each other. But that was about the only thing that had really changed. They hadn’t even kissed, which was kind of annoying.

But, well. One thing at a time.

“Are you okay?”

Bruce's voice pulled Loki out of his thoughts. They were sitting in comfortable seats in the back of the jet while Anthony flew the plane, and it was rather comfortable. Or it would have been comfortable, maybe, if they hadn't been on the way to an Avengers mission that might or might not end in an absolute disaster.

“Yes”, Loki replied. After a moment he added, “You?”

Bruce smiled. He had taken off his headphones; Loki could still hear quiet music coming out of it. “I'm fine. More or less.”

“You don't like this.”

“You don't like this, either.”

“No, I mean-”, Loki gestured vaguely at the human, “You do not like fighting.”

“Do you?”, Bruce retorted.

Loki couldn't help but snort at that. “I was raised in Asgard. The Aesir live for their wars.”

“I didn't ask about the Aesir, though”, Bruce said. He raised his brows when Loki didn’t answer immediately, and after a moment Loki sighed and shrugged.

“I can enjoy a good sparring, with the right partner.” He averted his eyes. “I _am_ fond of chaos, and battles are nothing if not chaotic. But dull fighting just for the sake of it, that isn't to my tastes, no. I'm not bloodthirsty, even though you might think that.”

Bruce shook his head. “I don't think that. You weren't bloodthirsty during the invasion, either.”

Loki looked at him, his eyes sharp. “I killed many of your people.”

“You could have killed many more if you wanted to. Everybody in Stuttgart would have been dead if you enjoyed killing.” Bruce just smiled in reaction to Loki's frown. “You can be violent, but you're not a sadist. It's power, I think. It gets to your head.”

Loki looked away again. Bruce saw a lot; more than some people might think. “I did what needed to be done”, Loki said, a bit stiffly. He knew that Bruce didn't mean to provoke him, that he wasn't even _judging him_ , really, but that didn't mean that Loki enjoyed talking about this.

“You weren't in complete control”, Bruce said, his tone almost soft. “That doesn't excuse anything and it makes some things even harder, but I… well, I just know what it's like.”

Loki was saved from having to reply by Anthony, who called back to them, “Everything okay, there?”

It made both of them sigh, but the glance they exchanged was fond rather than annoyed. Of course Anthony had noticed the tension in the air, probably even smelled Loki's agitation.

“We're fine, thank you”, Loki told him.

“We still have about three hours to go”, Anthony informed them. “So if you want to get some sleep tonight, this is the last chance.”

Bruce snorted. “If one of us needs to sleep, it's you.”

“I don't need sleep.”

“Debatable", Loki said. He knew that Anthony hadn't slept well the last days, since he'd constantly been expecting a call from Rogers.

“Nope. Sleep is vastly overrated, let me tell you. Einstein only -”

“Yes, we know about Einstein”, Bruce said. “Concentrate on flying, would you?”

Loki could _hear_ Anthony's pout. “JARVIS is flying, anyway.”

“And what are _you_ doing?”, Loki asked, frowning. Because, if Anthony _could_ sit with them instead of alone in the cockpit, why didn't he?

“Uhh. Letting you two have a little heart-to-heart?”

“Thank you, Tony”, Bruce said dryly.

“You're welcome, Bruceybear.”

Bruce rolled his eyes, but Loki quietly smiled to himself. “What are you listening to?”, he asked, curious.

“Oh”, Bruce said, hands coming up to the headphones resting around his neck. “ _La sonnambula_ \- that's, er, an opera. Bellini.”

Loki looked at him rather blankly, and Bruce smiled and pulled the headphones over his head to hand them over. Loki took them on and listened for a while.

“I like it”, he told Bruce when he gave the headphones back. “Better than Anthony's bands, for sure.”

“I heard that!”, Anthony called, sounding more amused than annoyed. Loki ignored him.

Bruce began talking about operas and that Bellini person and Loki listened, a bit absentmindedly, and took care that he made interested noises at the right times. He knew how important it was to Anthony that they got along well; not because Anthony had told him, but because he always made an effort to get all three of them to spend time with each other. Bruce cherished his privacy, just like Loki, but Anthony had still managed to establish something he still very hesitantly called “pack time”. (Actually, that term had come from Bruce, because Anthony hadn't done more than stuttering around a little about how it might be a good idea to “you know, do, uh, something. Together. Like, movie nights or something.”) Loki had found that he actually enjoyed the time they spend together. It was often a rather silent affair, with each of them reading either books or on technical devices, but they were still _together_. And they talked often and well enough, too. Bruce was good company, as long as Loki ignored his slightly unpleasant smell and the memory of the green beast nearly snapping him in a half.

It was surprisingly nice not to be alone anymore. And not only _not alone_ , but… safe, maybe. Accepted. It wasn't easy, no, because trust didn't come easily to either of them, and none of them actually _knew_ how the handle the fact that they were apparently actually a pack. It was awkward, now and then, and sometimes they ended up snapping and snarling at each other, but Loki didn't particularly mind. Because they _matched_ , and Loki thought trying to make this work might be worth it.

They spent the rest of the flight in silence. Briefly before they arrived, Anthony called Rogers and discussed the plan with him. He didn't say a word about Loki, and when he left the cockpit, his lips were forming a wry grin.

“They're in for a surprise”, he said as he sat down next to Loki.

Loki returned his smile. “Your teammates or the people we are going to fight?”

“Both”, Anthony answered. He handed Loki a tiny device and tossed a second one over to Bruce. Loki inspected it, then raised a brow at Anthony, who explained, “Put it in your ear. We'll be able to communicate over that.”

Loki shrugged and complained. “Who exactly are we fighting?”

“The flimsy remains of an organisation called HYDRA”, Anthony said. “A few of them have retreated to that old castle they used for gatherings back in the 19th century.”

“Just humans?”, Loki asked.

“Yes, but their tech can be pretty advanced. It won't be a challenge to beat them, I think, but since your magic isn't -”

“I told you, I will be fine”, Loki interrupted before this could turn into another discussion whether Loki was even ready to fight or not.

Thankfully, Anthony just nodded. He didn't even tell Loki to be careful. He didn't need to; the worry in his eyes was clear to see, anyway.

“So”, he said. “Steve and Natasha want to get into the castle and they might need your help with that, Bruce, so we'll drop you off first.”

Bruce made a resigned face. “Yay.”

“Yes, yay”, Anthony agreed, giving the other man an apologetic look. “The two will look for any tech and info they can get, and there'll be a lot of HYDRA agents running out of the castle, probably. Clint's gonna lodge himself on a tower or something and shoot his arrows,” he looked at Loki, “and we'll take care that nobody does a runner. The castle's in the middle of a forest, so it'll be like some kind of very eventful camping trip.”

“Camping trips usually involve less violence and more camping”, Bruce muttered.

Anthony nodded. “That's why I said ‘a very eventful one’.”

“The camping trips I have been on usually involve violence”, Loki mused, causing his pack members to look at him a bit oddly. “Asgard”, he said by way of explanation. A moment later he frowned. “What about Thor?”

“Oh”, Anthony said, looking like he'd forgotten all about _that._ “Right, he's gonna have Clint's back.”

Loki accepted that with a nod. He didn't look forward to seeing Thor. His brother still called Anthony every other week and demanded to speak to Loki, but somehow Anthony always managed to fob him off. He asked Loki every once in a while if he should patch Thor through, but he always accepted Loki’s _no_ without a single comment. It was impressive, how Anthony got Thor to stay away - Thor, who was not only a god but the _crown prince of Asgard_ , and who had one of the biggest bullheads in the entire Nine Realms. But Loki knew that Anthony was a powerful man himself and one of Thor’s most important allies, and Loki also knew that Anthony would move heaven and earth to give Loki what he needed. Maybe it was wrong to exploit that fact, but a not that small part of Loki was so awed by Anthony’s loyalty to _Loki_ that he just… wanted to see how far Anthony would go to protect him. To protect _them_.

“You probably won’t get around talking to him now”, Anthony said, apparently knowing what was going on in Loki’s head. “I can try to steer him off, of course, but -”

“Don’t.” Loki shook his head. “It is past due that I talk to him, anyway.”

“You sure you’re okay with that? You know, like this?” Anthony nodded down at Loki’s body.

Loki kept himself from glancing at his cold, blue hands and snapped, “I don’t have much of a choice, do I?”

Anthony sighed. “I just meant -”

“If you are ashamed, you only need to -”

“I’m not ashamed, for fuck’s sake”, Anthony shot back, “You know that.”

There was that tone in his voice that always threatened to get one of two reactions out of Loki - a shiver, or a cower. Or both, when Anthony was especially agitated. Now, Loki looked away and willed his body to do neither. He also didn’t snarl back at Anthony, which happened rather often, too.

“We’re almost there”, Bruce said into the loaded silence, calm as ever. “So if you want to get this out of your system _now_ , you should hurry up.”

“There’s nothing we have to get out of our system”, Anthony told him, his voice still sharp.

Bruce held up his hands, but otherwise seemed unimpressed. “Great. Can we concentrate on the matter at hand, then?”

Anthony visibly had to force himself to calm down, but he nodded and stood up. “JARVIS, tell Steve and Nat to get ready.”

“ _Yes, Sir._ ”

“Bruce?”

“Yup”, Bruce said and got up as well. He stored his headphones away somewhere and took off his shoes and shirt, folding the latter before he stepped close to the gate at the end of the jet. Another command from Anthony opened it and, without further ado, Bruce took a single step out of the jet.

Loki actually _flinched_ at the sight, because watching one of his mortal pack members jump out of a plane this far above the ground was apparently something that made him uncomfortable. Naturally, that didn't escape Anthony's attention.

“He'll be fine”, he said, and a split second later Loki heard the unmistakable roar of Bruce's alter ego. Anthony sat down in a seat across from Loki. “J, tell Steve we're on our way.” He looked at Loki, and his smile returned. “Ready?”

“Of course”, Loki said.

“Do you need a lift or can you teleport to the ground?”

“I can teleport.”

“Okay”, Anthony said. For a second, Loki thought that he wanted to say something else, but then Anthony just put his finger into the armrest of his seat. His suit spread out from there, and a second later he let himself fall backwards and was gone.

Loki teleported out of the jet immediately.

When he ended up standing in a forest with no real idea of which direction to walk in, he wished that they had discussed the details of their plan more clearly. One look at the sky was enough to let his mild annoyance fade, though, because between leaves and branches he could catch a glimpse of Anthony in his suit. All Loki had to do was follow him with great teleportation leaps. Now and then, he could hear the Hulk’s bawling, which made it easier yet to find the castle. It was big and pretty, in a Midgardian way, but Loki didn’t really care how it looked like, because they were already people storming out of a gigantic hole in one of the castle’s walls; probably created by the Hulk. Lightning flared up here and there, and Loki could hear both his brother’s shouts and the sounds of Barton’s arrows whirring through the air.

“ _Stay in the forest_ ”, Anthony’s voice came over the device in Loki’s ear. He sounded amused. “ _I’ll propel a few of them in your direction._ ”

Loki gave his assent and then watched Anthony as he rushed through the air and stirred up the group of shouting, cursing humans that had come out of the castle. Not few of them tried to fight back, but they didn’t have much of a choice against Anthony. Loki barely spared them a single glance, too distracted by the sight of _his_ human. Watching him fight was a delight.

“ _Oops, I think a few ran off to - uh, J, what’s that, north-west? Lokes?_ ”

“On my way”, Loki answered, already focusing on the figures he could see stumbling into the forest not that far away from him. There were a few startled shouts and curses when he appeared in the midst of the fleeing mortals, and he couldn’t help but grin.

“You are walking into the wrong direction, I think”, he informed them politely, and then the fun began.

Anthony had been very insistent on the “no killing” rule and, even though Loki didn’t really understand the purpose of that rule, he kept it in mind. The humans just needed to be knocked off long enough - or injured badly enough - that SHIELD could collect and query them later on. That was easy to do; without weapons similar to Anthony’s, mere humans didn’t stand a chance against Loki. He almost felt pity for them.

Loki spent the next hour keeping every single HYDRA agent from running away. It was boring, repetitive work, but since he wasn’t that keen on meeting Thor or one of the other Avengers, he did it without complaining. Eventually, Anthony had to fly after a jet a few mortals had jumped into to get away, and Loki found himself approaching the castle on silent feet. Apparently, Rogers and Romanoff had managed to chase all the little agents out of the castle, or maybe they had decided to flee themselves. Thor and Barton were battling the remaining mortals and didn’t really look like they needed any help, but Loki still headed for the tower Barton was perched upon.

He had spotted a HYDRA agent climbing up that very tower, and even though Loki knew that Barton could handle that single person well enough, Loki couldn’t resist taking care of it himself. He teleported and came to stand behind Barton, just in time to give the HYDRA agent a kick that sent her flying off the tower again. He softened her fall with a spell and put her to sleep with another, and then turned back to Barton to find himself facing the head of an arrow.

Loki held up his hands, and smiled. “Now, is this how you greet an old friend?”

Barton stared at him, his eyes flickering over Loki’s frame before fixing on his face again. “We have a bit of a problem here”, he said, probably to his teammates.

Over the comm, Loki could hear Anthony sigh. “ _Seriously?_ ”

“I couldn’t resist”, Loki said and gave Barton an apologetic look when his brows furrowed in confusion.

“ _Get your ass over here_ ”, Anthony said, amused. “ _I could use your help._ ”

“I’ll be right there.” Loki returned Barton's befuddled stare, winked, and let his magic carry him to Anthony.

He should have known that he would catch Anthony in flight, and that teleporting to him while he was several feet above the ground was _not_ a good idea.

Thankfully, Loki had quick reflexes, and with another, minor jump through space he managed to set both of his feet on Anthony's back. Wind was tearing at his clothes and rushing in his ears; he had to spread out his arms and bend his knees to keep his balance. He almost fell off, anyway, would have fallen off if his magic hadn't steadied him a little, and it was dangerous and insane and ridiculous, and Loki _grinned._

“What thE FUCK _ARE YOU DOING_?!!”, Anthony screamed from within the suit, but since Loki was too busy trying to hold his balance, he didn't reply.

And then he was already jumping off again, because he'd noticed that there were people on the ground beneath them and that they were shooting at them. He dampened the impact of his fall with a role, and he was standing on his feet again, lightheaded and still grinning, he saw that the shooting hadn't stopped.

Loki found that he didn't want Anthony to be shot at, so he went and taught those humans a lesson. Anthony helped him, but eventually they drifted away from each other because Anthony still had to take care of that jet.

Loki followed him by feet - or at least he intended to. Not long after he had lost sight of Anthony, he noticed that he had a shadow. A shadow that rather clumsily tried to stay unnoticed and creep up on him. One of those HYDRA people, clearly.

Loki slowed down a little and waited until he could hear his follower approach him. It was a woman, he noticed when she got close enough that he could smell her. He didn't like her smell in the slightest, and maybe it was the way his hair stood on end that made him turn around much earlier than he had wanted to, even before she tried to attack him.

She shot, but he pulled up a magic shield that repelled the bullet with but a thought, then conjured up his spear and aimed it her legs to sweep her off her feet. She actually managed to _dodge_ the blow and snarled at him, which threw him off track long enough for her to surge forward. Pain exploded in his thigh and his knee gave in, giving her a chance to throw herself at him. More pain, now in his stomach, and Loki hissed at her and was about to toss her away, but then she straddled his chest and leered down at him, one hand cupping his cheek. She smelled -

She smelled awful, disgusting, _wrong_ , and at the same time so familiar that it nearly made him retch.

“I've never seen one like you before”, she breathed, eyes flickering over his face, fingertips tracing the raised lines on his skin. “Pretty, though. And feisty, just how I -”

She was distracted by Loki's spear that he pushed against her chest. It sent her flying and he was on his feet in an instant, pulled the knife out of his body as soon as he was standing. He leaned down and grabbed her by the throat, lifting her off the ground and pushing her against the nearest tree. Her smell was still everywhere around him, almost distracting him, but he ignored it and held the knife to her throat. She stared at him, eyes blazing with anger, lips pulled back in a snarl, and tried to lash out when the blade pierced her skin. Loki didn't let her get away and watched with satisfaction as the first drop of blood appeared.

“This is a pretty knife”, he said praisingly. “Strong, isn't it? It must be, since it's sharp enough to cut through _my_ armour.”

She didn't say anything, but it wasn't like he needed her to.

“I want to make sure that we are clear on this”, he continued, his tone low. “I could _skin you alive for this._ This knife would manage that rather well, don't you think? And you should know that I am very good at things like that. You would not die, you would not even _faint_ until I would let you and, believe me, you would be begging me to let you in no time. Do you believe me?”

When she didn't respond, Loki pressed the knife deeper into her skin and raised his brows.

“I asked you a question, I think.”

She glared, but eventually hissed, “Yes.”

“Good”, Loki said. “However, I don't really have the time for a proper torture session at the moment, nor do I think that you are worth the effort. So this”, he raised his other hand and touched his fingers to her forehead, “will have to do.”

Her eyes rolled so far up that only white remained visible, and a second later she collapsed. He let her fall too the ground carelessly and finally concentrated on Anthony's voice, which had been in his ear for minutes already. Judging by his worried tone, Anthony seemed to have figured out that something wasn't quite right.

“I am fine, stop fretting”, Loki told him, even though he was not fine. “I'm on my way.”

He left the Alpha where she was. He didn't know what kind of bad memories he had trapped her in, and frankly he didn't really care.

Hel, he needed to take a shower.

 

xxx

 

Three people were staring at Tony like he had lost his mind. He was used to people staring at him like he had lost his mind, so he wasn't really bothered by it, but he _was_ a little on edge at the moment and not really in the mood to be judged.

Which was why he said, “Can you stop looking at me like that? It's not like I committed high treason or anything.”

“You're in a pack with Loki”, Steve told him, sounding a bit nervous, as if he thought Tony had forgotten about that particular fact.

“And Bruce”, Tony said cheerfully, because he felt like Bruce being in the pack should make things a bit better.

Right next to him, the Hulk protested with a growl.

“And Hulk”, Tony added, smiling at him. Big Green seemed satisfied.

“You're in a pack with _Loki_ ”, Steve repeated.

“That's basically high treason.”

“No, it's not”, Tony said, giving Clint a sharp look. “We'd established that Loki wasn't in full control during the invasion, yes? SHIELD _and_ Asgard agreed on that, and the lot of you were very happy to let _me_ look after him. And now we're a pack. It's not like we planned that, it just happened.”

“He's still a war criminal, Tony”, Steve said carefully. “He led the invasion, no matter if he was in full control or not.”

“Well, he's not planning to do something like that again.”

“How can you know that?”, Natasha asked.

“Because he's in _my_ pack”, Tony snapped at her. “And I know him, and I _trust_ him.” Natasha merely raised a brow, unimpressed. He gritted his teeth. “Can we like, wait until he's here? At least? He's on his way.”

He hoped that, at least.

“Why do you let him roam around on his own, anyway?”, Clint asked, his expression grim.

“Because he's his own fucking person and doesn't need to be supervised. Also, and I didn't know if you missed that or something, but he _helped us_ .” Tony looked at Clint. “He helped _you_. He's on our side.”

“He is on your side", Natasha corrected.

Tony snorted. “Right, and I'm planning world domination.”

“I'm sorry”, Thor chimed in for the first time. He was looking at Tony out of worried eyes; he wasn't angry or frustrated like the others, he just seemed confused and lost. “But I think I don't really understand the problem.”

“The problem”, Clint said, “is that Tony -”

He didn't manage to finish the sentence, because Loki chose that exact moment to appear between Tony and the Hulk. He swayed a little, and his face was a sickly looking shade of blue Tony hadn't seen before. Tony was at his side in an instant, already reaching out to steady Loki, to keep him from falling. Loki leaned into the touch willingly, almost thankfully, and that would have worried Tony a lot if the look in Loki's eyes hadn't been as clear and sharp as it was.

“What the hell?”, Clint said, just at the same time as Tony asked, “What happened, are you okay?”

“I'm fine”, Loki told him, but he wasn't fine, Tony could _smell_ that he wasn't fine. He could smell some other things, too, things that made him want to snarl and lash out and hold Loki very, very close. What he did instead was press his hand against Loki's stomach, against the god's leather armour that was soaked with -

“Jesus”, Tony  uttered, panic flooding every inch of his body. “Loki -”

“It's nothing”, Loki interrupted. He was leaning against Tony by now, his head resting on his shoulder. “Already healing.”

“Are you sure?” Tony ran his hands over Loki's upper body, searching for more injuries. Loki hummed in affirmation, and Tony decided to believe him. “Okay. God, Loki, you - you _stink_.”

Loki huffed. “I know.”

“What the hell happened?”

Before Loki could answer, a roar distracted them both. Tony looked up to find that the Hulk had planted himself in front of them - or rather in front of the other Avengers; he was keeping them from getting through to them. The growl had apparently been directed at Thor, who stood there and tried to do so much as _glance_ past the Hulk, but it didn't seem like Big Green intended to let him.

“Hey”, Tony said. “It's fine, buddy. They're not going to harm us, right?”

Tony could look past his giant of a pack mate at Steve, who met his eyes and, after a moment, shook his head. “Of course not”, he said.

“You hear that?”, Tony asked the Hulk. “It's okay. Come on.”

The Hulk hesitated a few seconds longer, but then grumbled a little to himself and stepped aside. He positioned himself right next to them, still glowering at Thor but glancing at Loki now and then, almost as if he was worried.

Loki had straightened himself by now, but he didn't shake off Tony's arm that was still slung around his middle. He looked at Thor, who looked back at him, his eyes wide and somewhat shocked.

“Brother”, he said, but didn't manage more than that.

“Hello, Thor”, Loki replied coolly. Tony could feel the tension in his body.

Thor stared at him for another moment, but then he pulled himself together and actually smiled a little. “It's… good to see you.”

“Is it?”, Loki said, his eyes sharp and his jaw set.

“Yes.” Thor sounded a little less tentative. “Yes, of course. I'm relieved that you are…”, his eyes flickered to Tony, “doing well.”

“He's been stabbed”, Natasha remarked.

Hulk growled at her, and Tony stressed taht with a glare.“While fighting against HYDRA, yes.”

“Also, why is he blue?”, Clint asked.

“That's none of your business, birdbrain.”

“I still don't understand what the problem is”, Thor said weakly.

“There is no problem”, Loki said, his tone firm. “I am in a pack. With Anthony and Bruce.”

“And Hulk”, Tony reminded him.

“And Hulk”, Loki nodded.

The Hulk made a pleased sound.

The others stared at them, and after a while Steve said, “Okay.”

“ _Okay_?”, Clint echoed, staring at Steve in shock. “Are you insane?”

Steve shrugged, but when he spoke his tone was firm. “We can't tear apart a pack.”

Tony grinned at him. “That was the most intelligent thing I've heard you say today, Capsicle.”

 

xxx

 

“That was too easy, wasn't it?”, Loki asked later, when they were back in the jet and Tony helped him sit down in one of the seats.

“I'm not sure”, Tony replied. “It's really against the law, you know. Splitting up a pack against their will.”

Loki grunted softly as he tried to find a comfortable position. “Do they have to abide by that law?”

“They should”, Bruce murmured. He had turned back into himself just a few minutes ago and had already made himself as comfortable as possible. Tony knew that he would be quiet for the rest of the night.

“We'll see”, Tony said, shrugging. “We've got Thor on our side, at least.”

Loki's mouth twitched, and he didn't look at Tony. “You do not know that. He promised to listen, nothing more.”

“But at least he did promise that.”

Loki huffed. He was in a bad mood, even though the whole thing had went better than expected. At least that was what Tony thought. Thor had indeed promised to come to the tower in one or two days to talk things through - actually, he had eagerly agreed when Tony had suggested it. They needed Thor's help more than Steve's or SHIELD's, because the first goal on their list was to free Loki of that damned thing around his ankle. And Thor could achieve that, maybe, as long as he was convinced that Loki wasn't up to any bad stuff. Having Loki fight at Tony's side during an Avengers mission had been the best way to convince Thor, or at least it had been the best plan Loki and Bruce had come up with. And Tony thought that it really had worked, and if they told Thor in detail what the whole pack business was about, things should be fine. More or less.

“Are you sure you're okay?”, Tony asked, feeling a bit useless as he stood around in the jet, with both of his pack members as quiet as they were.

“Yes”, Loki answered, his tone dismissive. “I just used too much magic. I'll be fine in a few hours.”

Tony sighed, and decided that he should leave Loki alone for a while. He turned to Bruce instead. “What about you, do you need anything?”

“No”, Bruce replied, smiling a little. “Thank you, Tony.”

Tony nodded, looked at Loki again, stood pointlessly around a while longer. Then he went into the cockpit and flew the jet himself, because he needed to do something  to distract himself.

Distract himself from the fact that Loki smelled like another Alpha, mostly.

Tony didn't like that.

Tony didn't like that at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pssssst.
> 
> There'll be smut in the next chapter.
> 
>  
> 
> ~~Took them (me) long enough, I know.~~


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here there be smut. Finally.

Tony was ridiculously nervous when he rode down to Loki’s floor. He was also tired, really fucking tired, and three showers hadn’t managed to make his skin stop itching. He knew the reason for his own restlessness, of course, and he knew how to make it stop, too, which was why he was on his way to Loki, actually. He hadn’t talked to the god since they were back in the tower, mostly because first Steve and then Fury had called and Tony had needed to explain, well, everything. And he didn’t even know  _ how _ to explain things, which had made explaining them really hard. But anyway, now the rest of the Avengers and SHIELD knew the latest news - Tony, Bruce and Loki were a pack, and not only that, Tony and Loki were -  _ might _ be - or become, in time, a - well, a couple? Not  _ mates _ , not yet, but… together. They were together, sort of.

God.

So, Tony was on his way to Loki to check up on  _ his _ \- because he was allowed to say that, right? Or think it, at least? - Omega, who would probably be pissed that Tony had let him wait for hours. JARVIS had told Tony that Loki’s wounds had already mostly healed and that he was just a bit tired, but naturally refusing to sleep. He had taken several long showers, too, but Tony believed that had helped Loki about as well as it had helped Tony himself.

Tony flinched when a  _ ping _ told him that he had arrived on Loki’s floor, but quickly pulled himself together and stepped out of the elevator. Loki was already expecting him, and Tony could smell him as soon as he entered the god’s apartment - there was not a lot of anger in the air, surprisingly, but somehow that didn’t make Tony feel any better. Because there was not a lot of  _ himself _ in the air, either, and since Loki had lately started to smell like Tony pretty much  _ always _ , this change was… not good. Loki had achieved something with those showers, then.

Loki was lying on his back on the sofa, one of his long legs thrown over the backrest, his arm covering his eyes. He looked up when Tony entered the living room, though, so apparently he hadn’t been sleeping. Tony stopped quite a bit in front of the sofa, unsure about what Loki wanted. Tony knew what  _ he _ wanted - join Loki on that sofa or get them both to a bed, which would be the better alternative but wasn’t actually necessary, because all Tony  _ really _ wanted was to be close to his ridiculous, arrogant alien god of an Omega.

“Hi”, he said.

“Hello”, Loki replied, sounding calm, but tired. He was still blue, but over the last weeks he had at least sort of come to terms with that fact, Tony believed. By necessity, anyway.

The fingers of Tony’s left hand started to tug at the hem of his shirt. “Sorry it took so long, I... I had to talk to Steve, and then Fury wanted to shout at me for a bit, so I couldn’t...”

He trailed off. Loki didn’t say anything.

Tony cleared his throat. “Thor will come by sometime tomorrow. To talk things through.”

Loki nodded, but stayed silent. His brows were raised. It made Tony sigh, and he tried really hard to keep himself from either shuffling his feet or crossing his legs. “Look, I  _ am _ sorry I made you wait, but I had to -”

“It’s fine”, Loki said.

“Oh.” Tony looked at him for a moment, then sighed. He decided that his Omega was a cruel (wonderful) man who enjoyed seeing him squirm for no reason at all. “Okay, I just - I just wanted to check up on you.”

Loki didn’t reply immediately. After too many seconds he asked, “Are you alright?”

Surprised, Tony couldn’t do anything but blink at Loki at first. Then he wondered just how horrible he looked. “Well, I’m not the one who got stabbed”, he said. It came out a lot weaker than he had wanted.

Loki smirked and sat up, taking his leg off the backrest. “I am fine.” 

Then he reached out for Tony with both of his hands. Tony gaped, but when Loki raised his brows and beckoned him over, he gave in and went to sit with Loki on the sofa. The god lifted his legs long enough that Tony could sit down, and then Loki’s legs were in his lap and his hands on Tony’s chest. They didn’t do anything but rest there, the arc reactor in between them. They felt cold through the thin shirt Tony was wearing. He glanced down at them, wanted to touch Loki, too, but didn’t quite dare yet.

“I smell strange”, Loki announced, his nose wrinkling in a way that had Tony smiling.

“Yeah”, he agreed. “Because another Alpha got close to you. You washed their scent off, but…”

“Yours, too”, Loki said, and Tony nodded. Loki looked at him, one corner of his mouth pulling up into a lopsided smile. “You do not smell a lot like me anymore, either.”

“I took a few showers, too.” Tony shrugged. “Didn’t want to make you a scene or something, so I tried to, uh. Calm down.”

Loki hummed and looked down at Tony’s chest again. He started to fiddle around with the fabric of Tony’s shirt. “I don’t like it.”

“Yeah, same”, Tony said, swallowing. He studied Loki’s face. “What happened?”

Loki frowned and his lips twitched, the smile disappearing again. “There was this woman who apparently thought herself allowed to -” His expression turned even more sour. “Well.  _ Woo me _ , perhaps, in her delusional mind. She touched me, I taught her a lesson.”

Tony reacted impulsively at that and reached out for Loki before he was even aware that he was doing it. He put one hand on Loki’s thigh, the other one on his waist and pulled him close. Loki didn’t quite end up sitting in Tony’s lap, but it was a close thing. He didn’t seem to mind, though, just grasped Tony’s shirt and shifted a little until he was really comfortable. Tony would have smiled at that if he hadn’t been so distracted by  _ another goddamn Alpha _ touching or, hell, even thinking about touching  _ his _ \- He gritted his teeth, fingers digging into Loki’s side as he tried to calm down.

“You’re angry”, Loki stated, perceptive genius that he was. He sounded calm again and also oddly fascinated, his eyes flickering over Tony’s face as if to avoid missing the tiniest of his reactions.

“Of course I am”, Tony said through still clenched teeth. “Nobody’s allowed to touch you against your - actually, nobody’s allowed to touch  _ anyone _ against their will, but you are -”

_ Mine _ , was what Tony didn’t say, but there was a glint in Loki’s eyes that told him that Loki had heard the word, anyway.

“What would you have done?”, Loki asked and cocked his head to one side, still watching Tony attentively. “If you had been there?”

Tony snorted and shook his head with a light shrug. The words were out before he could hold them back.  “I’d have obliterated her, probably.” He immediately winced, then forced himself to look at Loki properly. “Sorry, I know you don’t need me going all protective Alpha and stuff, but -”

“No”, Loki interrupted softly. One of his hands wasn’t on Tony’s chest anymore, suddenly, and instead came up to cup his jaw, his thumb stroking carefully over Tony’s goatee. “I don’t need the protection, no, but I… I find that I quite like the… the sentiment.”

“You do?”, Tony breathed. His mind needed some time processing Loki’s words.

“You would have stood up for me against her.” Loki lifted his shoulders, frowning a little; apparently he was a little bit confused by this himself. “And while that wouldn't have been necessary, the knowledge that you  _ would have _ is… good.”

Tony swallowed thickly. “I’d stand up for you against everything.”

Loki hummed and met Tony’s eyes, carefully. “I would do the same, for you. For both of you. It might not seem that way, but I… I hope you know.”

Tony knew. Fuck, he did. “I do”, he said, sounding more breathless than he would have liked. “I know.”

The look in Loki’s ruby eyes became hard, and his hand wandered to Tony’s nape while the other tightly grasped his shirt. “And I never want another  _ Alpha _ touch me like that”, he said firmly, “ever again. I want you to be the only one.” He pulled Tony close until their noses were almost touching. When he continued, Loki’s voice wasn’t much more than a low growl. “And I want to be the only one for you.”

Tony kissed him. That was the only reply he could think of, the only reply that made sense at all, and Loki seemed to agree, because he kissed back. Loki’s lips were cold as ice, but Tony didn’t mind - the cold was bearable, anyway, and Loki’s mouth fitted  _ perfectly _ against Tony’s own. Tony made a sound that came from somewhere low in his throat and pressed closer, as close as possible, slotted his lips against Loki’s again and again and again and forgot all about breathing and all the other unimportant things. His Omega’s hand was in his hair, just as cold as his mouth and tugging while the sharp nails of his other hand scraped over Tony’s chest, probably tearing his shirt. 

It was Loki who pulled away first, eventually, letting out a cool rush of breath. Tony gulped down some air and then leaned in again, sliding his tongue along Loki’s lips, this time. Loki honest to god  _ whined _ and opened his mouth to meet Tony’s tongue with his own. Tony hissed because  _ hell _ , Loki’s mouth was even colder inside, but he ignored the light sting and just kept kissing him because that was so fucking good, and  _ right. _

He didn’t even realize it at first, thought that Loki’s lips were just warming up because Tony’s own were warm, but then he noticed that Loki’s hands weren’t cold anymore, either, and that the touch of his tongue had stopped stinging. It made Tony pull back, just in time to see the ridged lines fading out, the deep blue turning pale and pink, eyes bleeding back into green -

“Hey”, Tony said, panting, and cupped Loki’s face to make him look at him. “Hey, no, honey, I don’t mind. You don’t have to -”

“Shut up”, Loki growled, and Tony obeyed because well, he didn’t mind. Either way was fine with him, really.

He let Loki kiss him again, and he also let Loki climb into his lap a few minutes later. They didn’t stop kissing, and Tony felt like was never going to  _ want _ to stop. Not that Loki would allow him to get away; he made sure that Tony stayed exactly where he was, both with his hands and with his mouth. Loki’s tongue was a goddamn  _ revelation _ , no matter what temperature it was. It also seemed that Loki wasn’t any less desperate for this than Tony, judging by the sounds he kept making - sounds that were going to make Tony lose his mind, he was sure of that.

Tony had to break away to breathe after who knew how long, and Loki let him but still kept him close, one hand still buried in his hair. The god’s pupils were already blown wide, his lips red, cheeks flushed. He was breathing heavily, too, just like Tony himself, and  _ god _ , Tony wondered what he had done to deserve someone as - well, as  _ Loki _ as Loki was, because Loki wasn’t perfect, no. But at the same time he was, because he  _ was _ Loki and Loki was perfect  _ for Tony _ , and that was more than enough.

“Are you thinking about science?”, Loki asked, somehow managing to sound reproachful and adoring at the same time. “Because if you are, I swear I -”

Tony silenced him by kissing him again, briefly, before he let his mouth wander to Loki’s cheek, then down to his jaw. “Not science”, he said. “You.”

Loki made a pleased sound that made Tony shiver all over. It turned into a gasp when Tony’s teeth scraped over Loki’s throat, the god’s hands gripped him tighter, but Tony held himself back just in time - he  _ wanted _ to bite and leave a hundred marks on Loki, but they hadn’t really talked about that yet and Tony wasn’t going to touch the whole  _ mating bites  _ thing with a ten-foot pole as long as he wasn’t completely-and-no-doubts sure that Loki wanted that, too. So he just mouthed at the soft skin of Loki’s neck and wondered if it  _ really _ tasted different than a human’s or of he was just imagining things. He couldn’t think about that for very long, though, because the slightly frustrated sound Loki made when he noticed that he was distracted made Tony return his attention to the matter at hand. 

Loki had already cupped his jaw and tilted his head up, anyway, and now they were kissing again, deep and slow and surprisingly… soft. Tony ran his hands over Loki’s back and slipped them beneath the god’s shirt after a while, which made Loki press closer yet, even though they were already chest to chest. He gasped into Tony’s mouth, and Tony knew damn well why - Loki was rock hard already and straining against the thin sweatpants he was wearing, and Tony himself was in a pretty similar state, liquid heat pooling low in his belly. He couldn’t keep himself from growling when Loki started rocking his hips, rather carefully at first. Loki’s hands found the way to the hem of Tony’s shirt and tugged. He made an impatient sound when Tony didn’t immediately lift his arms, so Tony obliged his Omega’s wish and let Loki pull his shirt over his head. Loki got rid of his own shirt just a split second later, then moaned softly when they were skin to skin for the very first time. Tony just wrapped his arms around Loki and kissed him again - or rather gasped into Loki’s mouth because hell, this was already so  _ good _ \- and it didn’t have any right to be, actually. They hadn’t even lost their pants, for fuck’s sake, and he hadn’t touched anything but Loki’s naked back. But Loki looked already half insane with lust, his black hair a mess, his eyes wide and dark, lips wet and hot against Tony’s own. And anyway, it was  _ Loki _ , so this had  _ every _ right to be as good as it was and -

“Oh, fuck”, Tony gasped, because apparently Loki had managed to squeeze his hands between their bodies and had already opened Tony’s fly. Loki actually snarled when he encountered underwear instead of bare skin, and suddenly there was a weird tingle running down Tony’s legs. He didn’t have any time to wonder what the fuck that had been before he realized that said underwear was gone, just like his jeans, and that Loki was wrapping his cool fingers around Tony’s already goddamn  _ aching  _ length.

Tony moaned and kissed back rather sloppily when Loki closed his lips over Tony’s again, his tongue brushing past Tony’s own. He echoed Tony’s moan as he began to stroke, then  _ whimpered _ \- god, that sound would haunt his dreams for  _ years _ \- into Tony’s mouth when Tony put his hands on Loki’s ass, squeezing through the sweatpants. Loki’s hips stuttered, searching friction, but then he suddenly made a distressed sound and reached back, taking hold of Tony’s wrists. He broke their kiss, too, his forehead falling forward against Tony’s as he panted heavily, trying to catch his breath.

“Loki?”, Tony asked, worried. He had already taken his hands off Loki’s body, at least to the extent that Loki’s iron grip allowed him to move his hands. “What’s wrong?”

“I -” Loki shook his head, took a breath. “I don’t -”

He didn’t finish, so Tony said, “You don’t want me to touch you there? That’s fine, I’m sorry, I -”

“ _ No _ ”, Loki said, almost growled. He shifted and buried his face in the crook of Tony’s neck. Which was a bit awkward because Loki was taller and had to bend down in an odd angle, but Tony wasn’t going to complain. Loki slowly let go of his wrists again, and Tony carefully rubbed his back until Loki muttered, “I’m - my pants -”

What?

Tony blinked and tried to glance at Loki’s pants, but he really couldn’t see what was wrong. Loki squirmed in his lap, obviously uncomfortable, but he didn’t try to get away, in fact he huddled even closer, searching comfort. The scent of his arousal was sweet and heady in the air, which made it kind of hard to think clearly. He was wet, too, Tony could feel it where the fabric of Loki’s sweatpants rubbed against his thighs, so -

Oh.

Tony couldn’t help but laugh, but stopped at once when Loki made another one of those distressed - and now also a bit annoyed - sounds. 

“Hey”, Tony said, pressing his lips to Loki’s temple and holding him tight. “That’s normal, sweetheart, nothing to worry about.”

“It’s disgusting”, Loki muttered weakly.

“No”, Tony told him. “Try ‘hot’, that works better.”

Loki pulled back abruptly and stared at Tony. “You like it?”

“Of course I like it. I'd be worried if you weren't getting wet, to be honest.”

Loki narrowed his eyes, suspicious. “You are serious.”

“Yeah. Sure am.” Tony nodded and trailed his fingers over Loki's. The Omega leaned towards him again in response to the caress, probably without really being aware of it. Tony's hand stilled. “Hey. If you want to stop -”

“No”, Loki said quietly, shaking his head. He also grabbed Tony's wrists again, gently this time, and led his hands lower. “And you can…”

He kissed Tony again, possibly to keep him from replying. Tony didn't mind - of course he didn't;  _ Loki _ was  _ kissing _ him - and responded eagerly, arousal flaring up again. Loki freed Tony’s wrists and cupped his face instead, making him tilt his head a little more. He groaned when Tony let him take control of the kiss without any protest, and Tony was more than content with letting Loki set the pace if it got him  _ this _ . He kept his hands were Loki had put them and didn’t do anything else, but it seemed like Loki was a little less patient. He started rocking his hips again, pushing back against Tony’s hands and growled quietly when he didn’t immediately got what he wanted. Tony got the hint pretty quickly, though, and started running his hands over Loki’s ass, his fingers sliding in between the god’s cheeks to stroke him through his already soaked pants. 

It pulled a throaty moan from Loki and made it him break the kiss. He turned his face away but stayed close, pressing his cheek against Tony’s. He gasped quietly when Tony kept stroking, while Tony himself tried to keep at least a  _ somewhat _ clear head.  _ Sensitive, are we? _ , he wanted to say, but he bit back on the words on time - Loki was already embarrassed about this, Tony really didn’t need or want to make it worse. 

“Want to magic off your pants, too?”, he panted into Loki’s ear. 

The mage gave a jerky nod and a second later his pants were gone, dissolving into a tingling shower of green and gold. It left Loki naked in Tony’s lap, and the feeling of it made Tony’s thoughts come to an abrupt halt. He grabbed Loki’s ass and pulled him forward, closer, groaning when he felt Loki’s hard cock against his own. Loki echoed the sound and rocked his hips more forcefully, trying to rub their erections against each other. He cried out when Tony’s fingers found his entrance and started teasing the slick, puckered skin, and Tony panted and grinned and kissed his way down from the shell of Loki’s ear to his throat. Loki immediately inclined his head to give him more access, shivering when Tony’s teeth scraped over sensitive skin. He could feel Loki’s puls, a rapid rhythm beneath his tongue. He was so distracted that he didn’t even notice when Loki’s hands made their way downwards, but Tony  _ did _ notice it when skilful fingers wrapped around both of their cocks, pressing them together. Tony moaned, stopped breathing, his own fingers stilling briefly when Loki started stroking, his touch firm and warm and slick. 

Somewhere in the back of his mind, Tony thought that Loki must be using magic lube, but the fascination about that flickered out again as quickly as it had appeared, because Loki was saying something, directly into his ear. It was meant to be a threat, probably, because it started with something that sounded a lot like a growled  _ Anthony _ , but somehow it ended with a whimpered  _ please. _

Tony knew what he wanted and didn’t hesitate to push a first finger into Loki. Carefully, though, he didn’t want to startle Loki again - though it turned out that that much caution wasn’t even needed, because Loki immediately pushed back against his hand. He moaned, his forehead falling down to Tony’s shoulder. His hand around their cocks started to move faster and Tony - hell, he didn’t even know where they  _ were _ anymore, everything else just faded away. A second finger slipped into Loki all too easily - Tony wanted to hear him moan again and Loki didn’t disappoint - and Tony  _ knew _ how to move them, how to make Loki fall apart because of nothing more than Tony’s fingers.

God, Loki was a  _ menace. _ This was the start of an addiction if Tony had ever experienced one. He knew that they would smell like each other for days after this and that everybody would know that they belonged  _ together _ . He could positively feel Loki’s scent seeping into his skin, and he could smell himself in the Omega’s hair and the faint layer of sweat on his skin. It was the best fucking thing Tony had ever smelled, their scents blending together. 

Maybe that was what made him lose it, maybe that was what had him burying his hand in Loki’s hair, tugging to make him bare his throat. Loki didn’t seem to mind, no, he actually moaned his assent, his glassy, now black eyes opening to fix on Tony’s. Tony kissed him, teeth and tongues clashing, and then he broke the kiss and bend down to bite into the junction of Loki’s neck and shoulder, hard enough that it probably hurt.

Loki actually _cursed_ and then he was coming, panting Tony’s name \- _Anthony_ \- while his hips thrusted a few more times, wanting to move back against Tony’s fingers and forward into Loki’s own hand at the same time. Tony followed mere seconds later, biting down on Loki’s neck a second time, on a different spot of soft skin.

When he came back down from his high, Loki had already melted against him, his body limb and relaxed. His head was resting on Tony’s shoulder as he caught his breath, his hands still somewhere between their bodies. Only now Tony noticed that the pale pink had bled away again, Loki’s skin returning to cool blue and raised lines drawing gorgeous patterns all over his body. Tony wrapped his arms around him and kissed Loki’s messy and sweaty hair, not caring about it being messy and sweaty in the slightest. 

It took a while until he could speak, and when he did, his voice was still rough and breathless. “You okay?”

What he really meant was  _ was that okay? _ , and thankfully Loki seemed to understand. He hummed and shifted, nuzzling Tony’s neck. “Acceptable”, he said, sounding almost bored.

Tony frowned and angled his head to look down at his Omega. Loki’s grin was wide enough to show off his rarely seen dimples, a clear sign that he was only teasing him. Tony snorted and kissed Loki’s cheek, making a soft, pleased noise when Loki lifted his head to kiss him  _ properly _ . It was slow, their tongues sliding against each other lazily, and Tony couldn’t remember ever feeling this good.

Loki broke away after a while, his eyes falling down to his own hand that was cupping Tony’s jaw. He sighed and turned his fingers, examining the blue skin.

“I really don’t mind”, Tony said, his hands gently stroking up and down Loki’s sides. 

Loki looked at him again and, to Tony’s surprise, his eyes became soft. “I am beginning to understand that”, he said quietly and kissed Tony again, just briefly. Then he shifted on Tony’s lap a bit, making a face about something, and ran his hands down Tony’s chest. There was the tingle of his magic again, and the mess they had made disappeared.

“I love magic”, Tony said, and Loki smiled and huddled close again. He also continued nuzzling his neck, rubbing his nose against Tony’s skin.

“You smell very good”, he said after some time, sounding immensely satisfied.

“I smell like you.”

“Exactly.”

Tony smiled and pressed a kiss to Loki’s temple. “I bit you.”

Loki snorted. “I noticed.“

“Sorry, I shouldn’t have -”

Loki hushed him and sat up again, touching his fingers to the two bite marks on his neck. He looked oddly impressed. “You actually broke the skin.”

Tony winced. “Just a little? Looks like they are already healing, though. They’ll be gone soon.”

Loki hummed, his smile returning. He put his arms around Tony’s shoulders and leaned in, his voice lowered to a purr. “You will have to renew them, then. I quite like the feel of them.”

A menace.


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait! I was a bit stressed the last weeks. And I also had to rewrite this whole chapter because I didn't like it. XD I hope it's fine now!
> 
> Also, I know that I'm super behind with answering comments (mostly on my other stories) so if you wrote one and didn't get a reply, please know that I appreciate it and adore you for commenting!❤ I'll get to it eventually.
> 
> Enjoy!

Loki woke up with Anthony still sleeping next to him. The human was curled up on his side, his face turned towards Loki, whose body was pressed against the blanket Anthony was sleeping under. Loki regretted that he couldn't actually wrap himself around Anthony, but he told himself that that would be possible as soon as he regained full control of his magic. Like this, his skin was just too cold for them to cuddle, and even Anthony had promised that he didn't mind freezing a little, Loki hadn't wanted him to be uncomfortable during the night. Hence, the blanket.

Loki stretched languidly, realizing that he felt  _ content _ for the first time in… well. Even during the last weeks, he had always been on edge, unable to actually come to rest. And maybe it was naive, maybe he should think about Thor and Odin and the Avengers, but right now he simply couldn't bring himself to worry about anything.

Loki didn't quite remember how they had went to bed last night. They had spent some more time on the sofa, kissing and touching each other, but since they had both been tired after barely having slept the night before and fighting, they hadn't done much else. Anthony had suggested a movie, but Loki didn't remember more than the first ten minutes of it. Anthony must have persuaded him to relocate to the bedroom, where they had had the brief discussion about cuddling in Loki's current form.

Loki had slept the whole night through. And he knew why - his bedroom finally smelled  _ right. _ Anthony's scent was in the air, mingling with Loki's own, and Loki had never smelled anything better.

Loki rolled over to look at Anthony. The man's face was red, which somehow made Loki want to touch it. He ran his hand through Anthony's hair, smiling. He didn't expect Anthony to wake up immediately, so his hand stilled when Anthony stirred and, after a moment, sleepily opened one of his eyes.

Loki pulled his hand back quickly, but apparently not quickly enough, because Anthony was already grinning at him.

“”ont stop”, he muttered, his eye falling close again, and huddled closer into his pillow.

Loki complied and started combing his fingers through Anthony's hair, smiling when Anthony angled his head to give him better access.

“Did you sleep well?”, Loki asked softly.

Anthony grunted and nodded. “Too warm”, he said. Then he opened his eyes and looked at Loki, who raised his brows. 

Anthony just grinned and started flouncing, his legs kicking out until he had freed himself from the blanket. Loki watched, amused, and already expected Anthony to throw himself at him, but Anthony hesitated in the last second.

His expression turned pensive, and the hand he laid on Loki's chest was careful. It felt warm against Loki's cold skin. Anthony's eyes flickered up to his face, as if checking for a sign of protest, and only then he moved closer and plastered himself against Loki's side, his head on the god's shoulder. The delighted sound falling from his lips made Loki chuckle.

“God”, Anthony said, his voice low and still rough from sleep. “You're the world's hottest cold pack.”

“Am I now”, Loki drawled, but his hand returned to Anthony's hair to massage his scalp. He could feel the edges of the device in Anthony's chest press into his skin, but he didn't mind.

“Mhh.”

Loki forced himself not to tense up. It was surprisingly easy; he knew that Anthony didn't mind this form. He had never once treated Loki differently. Still, Anthony was the first and only one who had ever touched Loki when he was like this, and Loki was not yet entirely used to it. Also, the lines on his skin turned out to be oddly sensitive - Anthony had just started following one of them with his fingertips - and Loki was tired of finding out new things about the body he had called his for more than a thousand years. It way  _ his body _ , and it hadn't done anything but confuse him since the invasion.

Loki waited until Anthony's body had cooled down before he pulled a glamour onto his skin. It chased the blue away and made the lighter lines fade. He knew that he wouldn't be able to keep it this way for very long - the longest he had managed so far was forty minutes, but during those forty minutes he had done nothing else but lie on the sofa and concentrate on his magic - but it still made him feel better.

“You more comfortable this way?”, Anthony murmured.

“Yes.”

“Okay.”

And that was that. Loki was overcome by a sudden, but not entirely unexpected wave of affection, and he couldn't help but smile when he buried his nose in Anthony's disheveled hair. He breathed in the Alpha's scent and also his own, because he could smell himself on Anthony's body. Apart from that, Anthony also smelled  _ content _ . All in all, it made Loki want to wrap his arms around Anthony and never let go, and he  _ swore _ that, if anybody tried to take this away from him, he would make them regret it.

“Been awake long?”, Anthony asked, still drowsy, and pulled Loki out of his thoughts again.

“No. Just a few minutes.”

Anthony sighed and moved to lie on his back to stretch. Loki looked at the human's arms for a little bit too long, maybe. They never got dressed again after they had lost their clothes yesterday, and now Loki's fingertips itched with the urge to touch. And because he saw no reason to resist that urge, he did touch and traced the lines of Anthony's muscles with his fingers. 

When he looked up again, Anthony was already arching a brow at him. Loki smiled and, when he leaned down to press his lips to Anthony’s, he could feel that Anthony was smiling, too. The kiss was brief and chaste, but only because Anthony pushed at Loki’s chest and made him pull away again. Loki frowned at that, but Anthony only laughed.

“Let’s brush our teeth first, okay?”

Loki rolled his eyes and kissed Anthony again. Please, as if he was going to get out of bed to  _ brush his teeth  _ when he was perfectly comfortable where he was. A little bit of magic did the trick, and there was not a single hint of morning breath when Anthony’s lips opened in a gasp - 

And Loki was pushed away again.

“Did you just brush my teeth with  _ magic _ ?”

“Yes”, Loki said, impatient. He ignored Anthony’s half bewildered, half fascinated stare and let his lips wander along the human’s jaw and to his neck, where he could mouth at soft skin without a scrubbing beard being in the way.

He wanted to bite down on that skin, he realized. He had wanted to do that yesterday already, but had been too distracted by Anthony's fingers going certain places. But now… He could certainly leave permanent marks. And with a little help of magic, he could allow  _ Anthony _ to leave permanent on  _ him. _ The ones he had left yesterday had already healed, and Loki was not happy about that.

“Do you always do that?”, Anthony asked. He was not thinking about the same things as Loki, apparently. “Like, have you ever  _ actually _ brushed your teeth? With, you know, a toothbrush? Or -”

“Anthony”, Loki interrupted, lifting his head to glare at his lover. “Is that  _ really _ important at the moment?”

“Uh, yes. I mean, you don’t have that much energy, do you? Why waste it on -”

“If it allows me to kiss you, I would hardly call it a waste of magic”, Loki said, rolling his eyes again and sitting up to get out of bed. “But fine, if you aren’t interested in -”

“Nonono, come back here!” 

Loki laughed and let himself be pulled back down, now into a  _ proper _ kiss. Anthony tugged at him until he was lying half on top of the inventor, and Loki knew that he would never get enough of this - of the feeling of Anthony's body below him (or above or all around him; it didn't matter, really) and Anthony's lips and tongue and his hands and his scent, and just -  _ Anthony _ , in general.

Loki had never felt this safe before. Or this wanted, or this  _ trusted _ . He had also thought he never  _ would _ feel like this at all, but it seemed that Anthony really was able to make the impossible possible, and Loki -

Well.

Loki loved him for that.

He broke the kiss to look at Anthony, and wondered if he should tell him. He also wondered if it was  _ needed _ at all, because maybe Anthony already knew. Loki certainly knew that Anthony - cared for him, deeply. This wasn't just a fling for either of them, it wasn't just based on convenience or mere physical attraction, and there were no… ulterior motives. Loki knew that this wasn't needed for him to stay at the tower. But he wanted it, wanted  _ Anthony _ so badly, and he would have him. They would have each other. Actually, they already  _ had _ each other, and a part of Loki didn't know what to do with all this happiness. At the moment the bigger part of him was willing to just  _ be _ happy, though, and defer the worrying about it to another time.

“Okay,  _ now _ I'm not the one who is distracted.”

Loki blinked and found Anthony looking up at him with a raised brow and a half amused, half concerned look in his eyes.

“You okay?”, he asked.

“Yes”, Loki said. He kissed Anthony again before he could ask anything else.

Anthony kissed back after a very brief moment of hesitation, and soon Loki had forgotten why a part of him had worried about anything at all. Anthony's hands were in his hair, tugging just in a way that Loki adored, and he was already hard and hot and grinding against Loki's stomach. His smell had already changed, too, had gotten that exact intense and musky note that Loki would  _ never _ get enough of. That alone made him dizzy with arousal, and then there were also the sounds Anthony made and the way his tongue played with Loki's own and his hands that were still tugging at Loki's air - and Loki was lost, just like that, in a matter of minutes. He would have found it embarrassing, maybe; nobody had ever been able to render him incapable of coherent thought this quickly.

But he really didn't care.

Loki didn't complain when Anthony rolled them over, just arched up into his lover's body. Anthony was mouthing at his throat and bit down on the sensitive skin once, twice - it would have actually hurt if he had been human, probably, and it  _ did _ hurt a little, but mostly there was just this deep and familiar rumble of satisfaction, this white heat low in Loki's stomach. He growled and pulled at Anthony's hair, making him lift his head again so Loki could kiss him. He could taste his disturbingly cool blood on Anthony's lips - how he managed to break the skin of a  _ god _ was still beyond Loki - and maybe that really should have disturbed him, but Loki was already too far gone to care.

Anthony shifted to kneel between Loki's already parted legs, but he never broke the kiss. While he needed his one hand to support himself, he ran the other down Loki's chest and wrapped his fingers around Loki's cock, which was already leaking at the tip. Loki keened and thrusted up into the human's chest, echoing the sound when Anthony moaned against Loki's mouth.

Anthony pulled away, panting, and slowed down, then entirely stopped the strokes of his hand, but didn't take it away. Loki really wanted those warm fingers to start moving again, so he opened his eyes to find out why Anthony had stopped. Thankfully, he already began to explain, his voice breathless and rough.

“Loki”, he said and pressed his lips to the corner of Loki's mouth, then to his cheek. “Lo, I - look, we don't have to, but I really - I really want to fuck you.”

Oh.

_ Oh. _

“Yes”, Loki breathed before he had even thought it through, but he didn't care about thinking things through at the moment. He  _ wanted _ , and so he repeated, “ _ Yes. _ ”

Anthony muttered something Loki didn't completely understand, but it sounded happy and thankful, so Loki had to kiss him. It was a little bit softer, this time, but not any less overwhelming. Anthony pulled away with a groan eventually, pressed another kiss to Loki's temple and scrambled off.

“Okay, lemme just -”, he said, still out of breath, and Loki propped himself up on his elbows to watch.

Anthony opened the drawer of his nightstand and left it open after taking something out of it. He was back with Loki in an instant, kneeling between the god's legs again, a small package in his hands.

It made Loki frown.

He knew why humans used condoms, of course. To prevent pregnancies and to avoid getting sick, so - “I can neither catch nor carry human diseases”, he said slowly.

“Yeah, I know, but you can get pregnant, and it's a bit early for pups, right?”

Loki stared at Anthony. He stared at Anthony long enough that he didn't tore open the package with his teeth like he had been about to do. Instead, he looked back at Loki and blinked, then frowned in concern.

“Loki? Hey, what's wrong?”

Loki felt dizzy. Yes, what was wrong? He didn't know. He was still so aroused, his cock was so hard that it ached, and he still  _ wanted _ , but suddenly… Breathing was difficult and he was  _ wet _ again, down there; the sheets beneath him were already moist. The feeling of dread was so sudden that he couldn't think or say anything. He just sat up, drawing up his knees and avoiding to touch Anthony. Then he moved to the edge of the bed to escape Anthony's wide and worried eyes and his inquiring voice.

Loki didn't know.

He didn't know how he could have  _ forgotten _ about this. He wrapped his arms around himself - his skin was cold and blue again; he hated it,  _ he hated it _ \- and tried to calm down, tried to make sense of what was happening. The world was spinning too fast around him.

_ Pups. _

“I'm not a  _ dog _ ”, he eventually got out through gritted teeth. “If you expect me to - I won't, I  _ can't  _ \- ”

His mind was a mess, the words clipped, incoherent, pointless. He hated not being able to voice his thoughts. It was almost worse than being stuck in this skin, because words were  _ always _ his first and last and best weapon, and when they failed -

“Loki, hey”, Anthony's voice said behind him, and then there were two careful and warm hands on Loki's shoulders, trying to ground him. “Breathe, okay? We stopped, everything's fine. Or do you want to - do you want to be alone? I can -”

Loki took a deep, quivering breath and forcefully shook his head. Anthony's touch became firmer and then he slowly pressed himself against Loki's back, wrapping his arms around the mage. Loki closed his eyes. He didn't relax yet, but Anthony smelled nice and comforting and his touch was gentle, and Loki trusted him. He did.

“I'm sorry”, Anthony whispered eventually, when Loki had calmed down enough to actually listen. “I'm sorry, we should have… talked about it first. Properly, I mean. But it's - it's fine, okay? We don't have to do that or - or anything at all, really. I won't make you, I promise.”

“You would not survive trying to make me”, Loki said, his voice a little rough, and Anthony chuckled and kissed his neck.

“Is it weird that I'm sort of glad to hear that?”

Loki smiled faintly. “Maybe.”

“You feeling better?”, Anthony asked. Loki nodded. “Okay, do you, uh… want to stay in bed, or - take a shower, maybe? Have breakfast?”

Loki shook his head, and then he freed himself from Anthony's embrace and pushed at the human's chest. Anthony got the message pretty quickly and laid down in the middle of the bed. Loki tucked himself against Anthony's side and rested his head on the human's chest, next to the glowing device. He still felt too vulnerable, but it got a bit better when he pulled the glamour back onto his skin. He rubbed his cheek against Anthony's shoulder, as if that could make Anthony smell any  _ more _ like Loki - Loki's scent was already there; every patch pf Anthony's skin smelled like him, like them both. But it helped to calm Loki down, knowing that his lover -  _ Alpha _ \- smelled like him. 

Instincts.

It was ridiculous, he knew that, but he was too agitated at the moment to care about it.

“I'm sorry”, Anthony said again after a few minutes, his voice quiet. “This could have gone better.”

“Yes”, Loki agreed, “but it was hardly your fault.”

Anthony stayed quiet for a while. “I didn't mean to startle you or anything”, he said then. “But - it's normal for me, you know? With you being an Omega and stuff. But I know that it's... weird. For you.” He snorted a laugh. “I mean, if someone suddenly told me ‘hey, you can get pregnant now’ and it was actually  _ true _ , then I'd be freaking out a bit, too.”

Loki sighed and and shifted to lie on his back next to Anthony. The sheets beneath him were still wet, and his thighs were sticky. It also  _ smelled _ \- a scent similar to that of Anthony's arousal, only… sweeter. It was uncomfortable.

“It's not that itself that it is bothering me”, Loki said after a moment, not quite looking at Anthony. “Getting pregnant has always been an option for me.”

“What?” Anthony rolled onto his side and propped himself on his elbow, furrowing his brow in confusion.

Loki glanced at him and shrugged. “I am a shapeshifter. Creating the… needed parts would be easy.” He frowned and looked at the ceiling again, running a hand down his chest and over his stomach. “Now I do not even need to change anymore, of course.”

“Huh”, Anthony made. “That's cool, actually. Hey, can you show me some shapeshifting when you've got your mojo back?”

Loki looked at his lover. “Why?”

“Duh.  _ Shapeshifting _ , Loki.”

Yes, that explained everything, of course. Loki's frown deepened. “You do not find it… odd?”

Anthony blinked. “Why would I? I mean, yeah, of course it's  _ odd _ , but, you know - in a cool way.”

Loki averted his eyes again, but he nodded slowly. Shapeshifting was not a skill that was admired by the Aesir, and, Norns, if Odin had known that Loki had ever played with the thought to shapeshift in order to become pregnant… Loki shuddered at the thought. That would have earned him at least three decades of being denied access to his magic books and lessons.

But, well. Anthony was not an Aesir, and they were not in Asgard.

When Anthony spoke again, his tone was very careful. “What exactly bothered you, then? Because you - you seemed to like the idea, at first.”

“I did”, Loki said, then corrected, “I do.”

It was the truth. The thought of Anthony taking him was a good, a _pleasurable_ one, and Loki still wanted it. But not now. Maybe not even in the coming days or weeks. Because something about it felt wrong, too; a nagging awareness at somewhere at the back of his mind that had been put there by centuries of being told what was _allowed_ and what was not. And that together with all those recent changes and _instincts_ and that particular word Anthony had used… No, it wasn't just about the possibility of getting pregnant. At least Loki didn't think that it was; he was not all too sure anymore, if he was honest. But well, he knew enough about his own physiology by now. He had talked to Bruce and done his own research; he knew about the wretched heats and the very high likelihood to get pregnant during them, but also of the slighter chance to conceive when he was not in heat. He knew all those theoretics, but he hadn't yet grasped what it really _meant_ , apparently.

“You don't have to tell me”, Anthony said, sounding hesitant. “I mean, I -”

“No”, Loki interrupted, his tone soft, and shook his head. “No, I was just… thinking. I am not entirely sure myself.”

Anthony hummed. Loki turned his face to him and saw that his lover was chewing on his lower lip in thought. He was watching Loki, the look in his dark eyes concerned, not judging.

Loki rolled onto his side, too, facing Anthony. “Is that something you want?”, he asked, his voice a little tight.

Anthony blinked. “Hm?”

Loki couldn't bring himself to say  _ pups _ , because that actually made him feel a little sick. “Children.”

“Oh. Er. Well, I…” Anthony looked surprised, almost startled. “Not really? I mean, I - I'm not sure. I always thought I'd be an awful father.” He snorted. “I've never even had this conversation with somebody before.”

Loki studied the human's face. He didn't believe that Anthony would be an awful father, but he doubted that  _ Anthony _ would believe him if Loki told him. 

“Also, it really is a bit early to be thinking about this, isn't it?”, Anthony added tentatively. “We haven't been… a thing for that long.”

Loki gave him a dry look. “A thing.”

“Shut up.”

Loki smirked, and Anthony reached out to take Loki's hand that was resting on the pillow between their heads. The god's smirk turned into a smile as Anthony's fingers stroked over Loki's own. He thought that he liked to watch Anthony touch him. He thought that he liked to be touched, like this - without any real reason behind it, other than that Anthony liked it, too. It was as clear as day - Anthony liked touching him.  _ I'd touch you a lot _ , he had said when they had actually talked about their “thing” for the first time, and  _ I'd want you to touch me a lot. _

Loki couldn't remember the last time somebody had touched him like Anthony did. Maybe nobody ever had.

“I need to know what you expect”, Loki said quietly, then watched as Anthony dragged his eyes away from their entwined hands and up to Loki's face.

“What I expect?”, he echoed, confused.

Loki nodded and glanced away briefly, but then forced himself to hold Anthony's gaze. “You told me that Omegas are treated like  _ breeding stock _ in parts of your world. I will not be treated like that. If you -”

“Yeah, no, you can stop right there”, Anthony said, shaking his head. “That's not happening, Lokes. I'd never treat  _ anyone  _ like that, for fuck's sake! Do you really think I -”

“ _ No _ ”, Loki cut him off, unable to keep the sharpness out of his voice. “No, I don't think you would. But I still want us to be clear on this.”

‘We  _ are _ clear on this. I'm not with you to get as many pups as possible out of you, dammit.”

Loki winced. “Must you use that word?”

“What? Which word? Pups?”

“Yes.”

Anthony stared at him blankly for a moment, then raised his brows. “Oh.  _ That _ is bothering you.”

“I told you that I am not a dog”, Loki said, and Anthony sighed.

“I don't think you're a dog, Loki. It's just something humans say.”

“It's horrible.”

“Why?”

“ _ Why? _ You are comparing your children to  _ animals.  _ You are not animals, therefore you should not use that word.”

Anthony started laughing, so Loki started glaring at him. His lover became aware of that pretty quickly and tried to stifle his laugh, which took him a few seconds.

“Sorry, it's just-”, he said, still chuckling a little. “That was one of the first things you said to me.  _ I know that you are practically animals _ , you said.”

”I do not sound like that.”

“Yes, you do”, Anthony insisted, nodding. “You have this weird accent that's not really British but  _ almost. _ ”

Loki huffed. “Just stop using that word.”

“Okay.” Anthony was still smiling.  “What about you?”, he asked then. When Loki looked at him blankly, he added, “Do you want children?”

Loki blinked and thought about it for a moment. Then he shrugged with one shoulder and said, “Well, it was… always expected.”

“Expected?”

Loki sighed. “I was the second prince of an entire realm, Anthony. Of course it was expected of me to marry, and father children.”

“That doesn't answer my question, though”, Anthony said.

Loki frowned at him briefly. “I never gave more thought to it.”

Because it had been expected, which had made it inevitable, and then Loki had fallen and children had been the very last thing on his mind.

“You know”, Anthony said slowly, “we're not in Asgard.”

Loki looked at him and smiled, because Anthony had unknowingly repeated Loki's own thoughts from earlier. “I noticed.”

“There isn't anything expected of you, is what I'm trying to stay.” Anthony rolled his eyes, laughing a little. “I mean, of course it would be cool if you didn't set the world on fire or something, and I'd like it it you - stayed. With me.” He squeezed Loki's hand and then let go, trailing his fingers over Loki's (blue) chest again. “Like this.”

“Naked and in bed, you mean?”

Anthony didn't even blink. “Yes, exactly.”

“Well”, Loki said and, following an impulse, grabbed Anthony by the shoulders and rolled them both over, which resulted in him pinning Anthony to the bed. “That is certainly arrangeable.”

Anthony laughed, his hands coming up to cup Loki's face. “That's good, then.”

He arched up to kiss Loki and Loki immediately kissed back, all the while taking care not to crush his smaller and much more fragile lover with his weight.

“I have no intention to leave you”, Loki whispered when they broke apart. 

“That's good”, Anthony repeated, already breathless, and kissed Loki again.

Loki forgot to pull the glamour back onto his skin, but Anthony didn't seem to mind.

  
  



	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I started writing smut and now I can't stop, please send help

They managed to spend the entire day in bed, somehow. They slept a little, curled around each other, but mostly they talked and kissed and _touched_ . Loki was determined to map every inch of Anthony's body with his hands and mouth, and it seemed that Anthony had a similar desire regarding Loki's body. They didn't do much, really, and certainly nothing technically spectacular - Loki didn’t have a whole lot of sexual experience (he was rather young, after all, and his _preferences_ had made finding lovers in Asgard quite difficult), but this was still only a quick fumble compared to some other things he had done. But somehow it felt… so much better. So much more real.

He had never done this before. Lounging around in bed all day, with or without a lover, would have been unthinkable in Asgard. And in between Asgard and Midgard there hadn't even a bed, much less a lover.

But now, there was Anthony, and he touched Loki like he wanted to memorize every patch of skin his body had to offer, and he kissed him like he wanted _Loki_ , not just his body.

Loki liked it, he decided, he liked all of this. He smiled as Anthony laid on his back and tried to catch his breath, a soundless laugh falling from his lips. Loki nuzzled his neck and trailed his fingers over Anthony's stomach, rubbing soothing circles into the relaxing muscles.

“You'll be the death of me”, Anthony declared as soon as he could speak again.

Loki’s smile widened. “Oh?”

“Yeah”, Anthony breathed out. “You know, your mouth -"

He was cut off abruptly when Loki flicked his tongue over the bite mark he had left on Anthony's shoulder earlier. It had stopped bleeding, but still looked somewhat painful - for a human, anyway - so Loki let a bit of healing magic seep into the skin. Anthony gasped; maybe because of the magic, more likely because of Loki's tongue.

The wound would still scar, probably. But Loki knew that Anthony didn't mind that, that he _wanted_ it, even. They had talked about it, and apparently mating bites didn't always happen during sex between humans. They did it to claim each other, after all; a first sign that they didn't just want to be a couple, but _mates._ Loki did not quite understand the system of it, but he did understand one thing - mates stayed together for their whole life.

He found that he would not be opposed to that.

“What about my mouth?”, Loki asked lightly, lifting his head to look at Anthony.

He looked wonderfully debauched, his hair a mess and his cheeks still flushed. His eyes were glinting with amusement, but he sounded serious when he said, “It should be illegal.”

Loki arched a brow. “And why is that?”

“Because it broke my brain. And my brain is important, you know. Humanity needs it.”

“ _Humanity_ needs a lesson in humility”, Loki responded dryly, but he let it happen when Anthony hooked a hand around the back of Loki's hand to pull him down to him.

“Wanna teach me?”, Anthony asked, grinning.

Loki rolled his eyes and kissed him, because while Loki enjoyed their banter, he enjoyed kissing even more. Even when it was slow and a little lazy like it was now.

When they broke apart, which they did solely because they both had to breathe at some point, Loki was still lying half on top of Anthony. The human's body was splendidly warm, a nice compensation to the coldness of Loki's own. He might be able to fall asleep like this, but he had different things in mind.

“You know”, he said lowly, resting his chin on Anthony's chest. “I _might_ be willing to let you enjoy my mouth again if -”

Anthony interrupted him with a groan. “See? That's what I mean. The death of me. I've already come too often today.”

Frowning, Loki asked, “Is there a thing as coming too often?”

Anthony gave him a look that swayed between amused and exasperated. “I'm afraid there is, for humans.”

Loki pouted. “What about _your_ mouth on _me_ , then?”

“ _That_ can be arranged. But give me a few minutes, I need to pee.”

“Charming”, Loki drawled, but he dropped himself on his back next to Anthony so the human could get up.

“Sorry”, Anthony said, pressing a kiss to Loki’s temple before climbing over him and out of bed. He went to the bathroom, leaving the door open behind him.

Loki stretched languidly and made a face when he noticed the many wet spots on the sheets. He used a bit of magic to clean them and immediately regretted it - after several hours of constantly pulling his glamour back on, his magic was somewhat drained. He might even not be able to don his glamour another time.

That was definitely annoying.

When Anthony came back to bed, Loki immediately pressed himself against his side, hiding his face in the crook of his lover’s neck. Anthony’s arms came around him and held him close, his hands carefully stroking over Loki’s back.

“You okay?”, he asked, concerned. Loki just gave a confirmative hum in response, and Anthony chuckled softly. “We should have a few hours left until Thor comes by to talk. Maybe we should use them to sleep.”

Loki huffed. “You say that only because you are lacking stamina.”

“Hey”, Anthony said in mock offence and tugged at Loki’s hair. “Cut me some slack, this is the first sex marathon I’ve had in _years._ ”

At that Loki frowned and lifted his head, looking at his lover. “What about your rut?”

Anthony blinked down at him, then frowned and shifted a little, apparently uncomfortable. “That doesn’t count.”

“Why not?”

“Because I can’t even remember half of it”, Anthony said, his tone uncharacteristically stiff. “Or the name of the person I spent it with.”

Loki didn’t like thinking about that person, whoever it had been, so he dropped that particular topic and rested his head on Anthony’s shoulder again. “You… rut every four weeks, yes?”

“Well, that’s the average.” Anthony started playing with Loki’s hair. “It’s always been roughly every six weeks, for me. But I, uh. I’m taking suppressants.”

“I know”, Loki said, keeping his tone light. “Bruce told me that they failed, that one time.”

“I’ve got stronger ones now. It won’t happen again.”

Loki pressed his lips together and put his hands on Anthony’s chest, drawing careful circles on the skin. Anthony’s device cast Loki’s fingers into blue light. Somehow, he didn’t like that Anthony was suppressing his ruts. It was an odd feeling; an uncomfortable pull somewhere in his stomach, almost as if he was going to be sick. He wondered how many different kinds of suppressants humans had developed - he remembered how Fury had smelled, like _nothing_ , because he used remedies that repressed his scent. But Anthony still smelled like he always had, like he _should_ , so his suppressants probably only kept him from going into rut. Maybe Loki should have been glad about that, because the thought of Anthony leaving to spend his rut _elsewhere_ was a horrible one.

But.

There was also the thought that Anthony could spend his ruts with _Loki._

Loki put his hand flat on Anthony’s stomach, just a little lower than the strange device. He could feel Anthony's breaths. “It won’t be long until I go into heat again”, he said carefully.

Two or three weeks, maybe. If the rhythm was regular.

“I know”, Anthony replied, sounding cautious. “You… uh. You have to think about what you want to do about it.”

Loki sighed and buried his face against Anthony's shoulder, slightly rubbing his cheek against the warm skin. “What are my options?”

“Well”, Anthony said, “we could handle it the same way as last time? Or, if you don't want to be alone, I - We could request somebody who could… stay with you.”

“Somebody”, Loki repeated. The word tasted sour on his lips.

“Yeah, there are, er, services for that for that sort of thing.”

“A prostitute, then.” That tasted even more sour.

“No, they're not -” Anthony broke off with a sigh. “Yes, kind of.”

Loki sat up and looked down at his lover. “Why are you suggesting this?”

Anthony just gaped at him for a moment, but then he propped himself on his elbows and glared back at Loki. “I'm not _suggesting_ it. You asked about your options, I -”

“And you would be content with me spending my heat with another person”, Loki interrupted, his voice tight. “With another _Alpha_. You wouldn't mind that -”

“Of course I'd mind”, Anthony snapped, sitting up completely now as well. “But it's not my decision, it's yours, so it doesn't matter what I -”

“It does matter to me.” Loki's tone was sharp, and while his mind told him to get away from Anthony, to stop the fight by simply not having it, another part of him wanted to be closer. That part won, in the end, and a second later Loki had straddled Anthony's legs and pulled the smaller man close. "It  _matters._ To me.”

Anthony was staring at him, wide-eyed, and the beginning of a snarl that had pulled at his lips just a moment ago was gone now. “Loki -”

“You cannot be able to give me away that easily”, Loki said grimly, leaning down to bring his face close to Anthony's and look directly into his eyes. “Not when I can't even stand the _thought_ of you being with somebody else.”

Anthony didn’t touch Loki, which was worrying. But he also didn’t push Loki off his lap, he just continued staring at him and eventually swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down. He sounded a little choked when he said, “It wouldn’t be - _giving you away_ , it’d be like -”

“Sharing”, Loki filled in, his brows raised.

“ _No_ , just - Hell, I don’t know, aren’t you always telling me that you don’t belong to me?”

Humans could be very slow off the mark, sometimes, even when they were geniuses.

“Yes, and I do not belong to you”, Loki said with a sigh. “With which I mean that you do not own me.”

“Of course I don’t.”

“Yes”, Loki repeated and cupped Anthony’s face, his thumbs stroking over the goatee. “But I do belong _with_ you, and I do not want to be with anyone else. I thought I made that clear, yesterday.”

Anthony swallowed again, then his tongue darted out to wet his lips. Which was unfair; it made thinking clearly much more difficult.

“You’re… very serious about this”, Anthony managed after a moment, his voice quiet. He looked at Loki like he had hung the stars.

Loki frowned, but he forced himself to stay where he was and not pull away. “Are you not?”

“No - I mean, _yes_ , of course I am, it’s just, I’m not -” Anthony broke off and took a deep breath, then tried again, his words a little less rushed. “I’m just not… really used to this sort of thing, I guess.”

“Me neither”, Loki said. But it was… easy, was is not? Loki wanted him - this ridiculous, annoying, perfect mortal, who smelled so good and had a smile so clever and soft and sharp and adoring that it made Loki’s breath stutter, every time he saw it. Anthony was smiling now, too, just a little, just a tiny twitch that pulled one corner of his mouth up, and Loki -

Loki leaned his forehead against Anthony’s and closed his eyes, breathing in his scent, breathing the _same air_. He told himself that it _was_ fine, and easy, or that it would be fine and easy soon, at least, if they could just - stay together, like this.

“Hey”, Anthony said quietly. Loki just gave a soft hum to show that he was listening, but apparently that was not enough, because Anthony repeated, “Hey, Loki?”

Loki opened his eyes and pulled away a little, just enough so he can look at Anthony properly. And that was what Anthony had been waiting for, apparently, because now - _finally_ \- he wrapped his arms around Loki and held him close against his chest.

“I, uh. I’m probably in love with you.”

Loki pulled back even more, because he needed to see Anthony’s whole face, not just his eyes. Anthony’s whole face wore an expression of mild panic, as it turned out. Something about - _this_ , about this everything made Loki so giddy that he began to smile, widely, wide enough that his cheeks would start hurting if he kept it up for a while.

“Probably?”, he echoed and hooked his hand around the back of Anthony’s head, burying his fingers in the soft hair that was a bit curly, now that it wasn’t well-groomed like it usually was. “Why probably?”

Anthony seemed to have been holding his breath, but now it left him in a slightly choked laugh. “Because you’re teasing me instead of saying that you love me back, asshole”, he said, breathless. “I feel like I should reconsider my choice in -”

Loki kissed him and Anthony melted into it immediately, his lips falling open with a soft gasp. His hands were strong and warm on Loki’s back, pulling him even closer and stroking about cool skin. Kissing Anthony was not technically _new_ anymore, but it was still so _good_ when their tongues met, and Loki had to pull back before he stopped thinking entirely.

He cupped Anthony’s face and nuzzled the human’s nose with his own, smiling when Anthony smiled.

“I do”, Loki said under his breath. “I love you, too.”

Anthony sucked in a shuddering breath, the look in his eyes soft. “Yeah, that’s - good to know.”

“Yes”, Loki agreed, still smiling. And because he was sitting naked in his lover’s lap and because he wanted Anthony, so much, he ran his hands down Anthony’s chest and turned his smile into a smirk. “So. Would you be alright if I had somebody else stay with me during my heat, then?”

Anthony frowned, looking confused and almost hurt, but when Loki arched a brow he seemed to understand. He snorted and let his hands wander over Loki’s back, his fingernails following the lines on his Jotun skin. They _were_ more sensitive than the rest of his skin, as it had turned out, and that should have been odd and disturbing and mortifying, but it felt so _good._

“You know”, Anthony said, his voice dropping lower. “I think I’d jump at anybody who even _tries_ to touch you, at the moment.”

“Oh?” Loki’s breath hitched a little when one of Anthony’s hands grabbed his ass. He didn’t like the thought of somebody else touching him, either, but Anthony being there and snarling at whoever it was - that was something worth imagining. “What would you do to them?”

“Well”, Anthony replied, his smell betraying his casual tone for what it was; feigned. “I’d teach them that they shouldn’t get their hands anywhere near you. And then I’d take you away and make sure that you don’t smell like them, but like _me._ ”

Loki hummed thoughtfully and shifted on Anthony’s lap. He wanted Anthony to move his hand, to touch Loki properly, but it didn’t do anything but rest on Loki’s ass. “And you think I would let you?”

He brought one of his hands down between their bodies and moved to take himself in hand, but Anthony did just what Loki wanted and batted the god’s fingers away. Loki’s cock was already hardening and he couldn’t stifle the gasp falling from his lips when Anthony touched him, his fingers almost too warm against Loki’s cold and sensitive skin.

Anthony growled low in his throat, the quiet sound enough to make Loki shiver. “Maybe I would have to make you”, Anthony mused. “Would you like that?”

Loki wanted to reply something, but then Anthony’s hand started stroking and Loki forgot what he had wanted to say, just like that. The frustrated grunt he heard was probably his. This had no right to be so - so mind-numbing. He didn’t know why it was like that, even though it had been this way the whole day and yesterday, too. Everything felt so much more intense than what Loki remembered of being with his few other lovers, and it was even worse - _better_ \- when he wore his Jotun skin. He wanted to change that, now, but couldn’t, because his magic was drained and didn’t let him.

“I can’t change”, he whispered instead of replying, his head falling down to Anthony’s shoulder. “I can’t -”

“Shh”, Anthony made, and his lips were on Loki’s temple as his hands rubbed up and down his back. It was more soothing than it should have been. “It’s okay, it’s fine - you’re perfect like this.”

 _Liar_ , Loki thought, except - it didn't sound like Anthony was lying. And Loki recognized a lie when he heard one, usually.

He took a deep breath. This could be easy, too. It wasn’t.

“I love it when you look like this”, Anthony muttered, his voice close to Loki’s air. “And I also love it when you’re - uh. Less blue. You’re gorgeous either way, and I - I’m here. I’m not leaving, not because of this and not because of anything else.”

Another deep breath. This could be easy; Anthony made it sound like it already was.

Loki lifted his head to look at his lover again. He found Anthony smiling, even though his eyes were concerned. He ran his fingers through Loki’s hair, brushing it out of his face. “You good? If you want to stop -”

But Loki shook his head and kissed him again, and it was fine. It was good. It was _slow_ , actually, and careful, with Anthony’s lips moving gently against Loki’s own and their tongues meeting almost hesitantly. But it helped Loki to calm down, and soon enough he became aware of the heat gathering in his belly again, and also of the fact that his hips had started moving on their own account. He didn’t stop them from moving - of course he didn’t, grinding down on Anthony felt too good, and it started to feel even better when Anthony’s hands returned to Loki’s ass, kneading his cheeks. Fingernails scraped over skin hard enough that they might have left red lines, which pulled a low groan from Loki and made him press closer.

He was taken aback when Anthony shifted them both, making Loki lie on his back - throwing Loki onto his back, actually. It knocked the breath out of Loki’s lungs and actually made him _laugh_. Anthony crawled up Loki’s body immediately, grinning down at him, and Loki reached up and pulled him down into a kiss. Loki managed to spread his legs, somehow, so Anthony could kneel between them, and arched up into his lover’s body as well as he could. Anthony’s lips wandered down Loki’s neck to his throat, where he sucked a mark into the soft skin, right above the god’s humming pulse. The feeling of it made Loki’s eyes flutter shut and pulled another moan from his lips.

He forgot how to breathe altogether when Anthony’s mouth moved even lower, down to Loki’s chest. A clever tongue flicked over his nipple while Anthony’s free hand - the one he didn’t need to support himself - stroked over his belly. Loki’s muscles twitched under the touch, and there were lines down there, too, drawing strange patterns all over his bodies. Anthony followed one of them with the tip of his tongue, the touch of it so hot against Loki’s body that it made him keen.

“Fucking gorgeous”, Anthony murmured, his breath a warm breeze against Loki’s skin. It was not much more than a low growl, the words uttered almost as if they were an afterthought, but it was still _sincere_ , and the thought that Anthony actually _meant_ that -

“Do you -”, Loki started, but Anthony bit down on a patch of skin above Loki’s hip bone, which momentarily rendered Loki incapable of speech. He tried a second time as soon as that improved again. “Do you truly - think that?”

Anthony didn't reply immediately, so Loki propped himself up on his elbows to see what he was doing. Anthony was not doing a lot, just kneeling between Loki's spread legs and leaning down over Loki's body. He had lifted his head, just enough to look at Loki, but still close enough to the god's skin that he could feel Anthony's breath brush over his stomach.

Anthony looked utterly perfect, kneeling there like that, but everything Loki could see of _himself_ was blue and odd-looking, the lines looking even more garish than usual.

“Yeah”, Anthony said, his eyes crinkling with a warm smile. “I _truly_ think that. You're beautiful, Lo.”

Loki huffed and shifted a little, feeling uneasy. He was about to suggest waiting until his magic had restored, when suddenly Anthony's hot mouth was on his cool skin again, teeth scraping over Loki's abdomen. Despite himself, Loki's gasped - feeling Anthony's teeth on his skin had very quickly become one of Loki's favorite things - and watches as Anthony shuffled back a little, his face hovering near Loki's cock. It had softened a little, but Loki doubted that that would continue being an issue if Anthony kept looking at him like this. That grin was _wicked_ , and the mischief in those brown eyes -

Loki swallowed, hard.

“You want to know how hot I think you are?”, Anthony asked, then pressed an open-mouthed kiss to Loki's hipbone. “Cause I can think of a _lot_ of fun ways to show you.”

“Is that so?”, Loki breathed.

Anthony hummed in confirmation and dragged his teeth over Loki's thigh, this time. Loki had to suppress a moan, but he couldn't keep his legs from falling apart a little wider. Anthony made a pleased sound and hooked his fingers under the back of Loki's knee, making him draw up his leg. Then Loki could feel warm lips and a tongue on the soft skin of his inner thigh, and he let out a rush of breath and let his head fall back into the pillow.

“Your skin tastes different like this, you know.” Anthony put his hands on Loki's thighs and shifted, letting his breath ghost over Loki's cock.

“I wonder", he murmured, then licked a broad stripe along Loki's cock, from the base to the tip.

Anthony said something else, then, but Loki didn't understand - he was too distracted trying to convince himself that the sound he'd just made had _not_ been a whine. But then Anthony began kissing his way up Loki's cock and eventually wrapped his lips around the head, and another not-whine fell from Loki's lips and Loki forgot about which sounds were appropriate and which were not. He thought about Anthony's tongue instead, which was curling around the tip of Loki's cock and licking up a few drops of precum, and he thought about how hot and wet Anthony's mouth was and about the fingers that stroked his inner thigh, on the way to -

“ _Oh_ -”

Loki's fingers curled into the sheets and his hips bucked up, the combination of Anthony's mouth and his fingers rubbing at Loki's entrance already a bit too much. Even he was a little sensitive after spending hours in bed, though he realized - he hadn't yet had Anthony's mouth on him, and Anthony's mouth happened to be a damned _wonder_ , so maybe it was less a matter of sensitivity and more of… well. Excitement.

It was Anthony, after all.

“Still so responsive”, Anthony murmured, his lips moving against Loki's cock. “And wet already. You're incredible, do you know that?”

Loki turned his head to the side, trying to hide his face. He _was_ wet again, could feel the stickiness between his cheeks, but he didn't even manage to be ashamed of it when Anthony sounded so… adoring.

A first finger pushed into Loki, slowly. And while that was not a new feeling anymore, it was still _good_ , and together with Anthony mouthing at his cock it made Loki keen and try to buck his hips, into Anthony's mouth or against his hand, Loki didn't know. Anthony's free hand came to lie on Loki's groin, pushing his hips back into the mattress. He was not nearly strong enough to keep Loki from moving, but Loki understood what Anthony wanted and tried to keep still himself, another moan falling from his lips.

“Fuck, if you keep making those pretty sounds, I might be able to go again.”

The words were muttered against Loki's cock, and Loki _almost_ managed a reply, but then Anthony swallowed him down, and Loki's mind went blank.

Norns, Anthony was _talented_ at this. Loki wasn't surprised, really - Anthony had been talented at everything they had done so far, too -, but it still caught him off-guard. Anthony's nose was already buried in what little of pubic hair Loki had, and somehow he still managed to swallow around Loki's cock, as if to take him even deeper. Anthony's throat was - _Valhalla_ \- almost too tight, too _hot_ ; the heat of it burned. Loki adored it, he adored _Anthony_ for doing this, and -

He couldn't help it. His hand found its way to Anthony's hair, pulling at the curls, and he would have stopped tugging as soon as Anthony showed a sign of protest, but the only thing Anthony did was moan around Loki's cock. The vibrations of it had Loki pinching his eyes shut, his mouth falling open.

Anthony pulled off Loki's cock, choking a little, and his voice was rough when he said, “Oh, fuck.”

“I didn't mean to -”, Loki began, not quite apologizing but almost, but Anthony didn't let him finish. He didn't let him take his hand out of the human's hair, either, Anthony's own hand coming up to keep Loki's in place.

“Keep it there”, he demanded, breathless, his dark eyes meeting Loki's. “Pull if you want, I can take it.”

Loki groaned and let his head fall back again, then used the grip on Anthony's hair to guide his lover back to his cock. Anthony echoed Loki's moan and uttered something Loki did not fully catch - the word _perfect_ was in there, somewhere, and _love_ \- and then his mouth was back where Loki wanted and needed it.

Loki lost track of the time. The heat in his abdomen became overwhelming rather quickly, everything Anthony did being on the thin line between _too much_ and _not enough_ , but Loki's release still didn't find him quickly - Anthony was not the only one who had come a few times today already.

And gods, Anthony knew how to drag this out. He knew how to drive Loki _insane_ , to be precise, to a point where Loki made sounds he would later be mortified by. But he couldn't bring himself to care; he didn't remember ever having wanted and _needed_ like this. It was ridiculous in its intensity, almost, but then, everything since their first time together yesterday had been ridiculously intense.

There was something more behind that, probably, but Loki didn't even realize that at the moment. Because Anthony made it impossible to thing, with his mouth and clever tongue and his fingers - three of them were inside Loki now, and Anthony knew how to crook them just right to hit that spot that made hot white pleasure spark up and down Loki's spine, again and again and again.

Loki was arching his back, too much pent up energy flooding his veins, and the hand that was still buried in Anthony's hair was trembling by now. His heels pressed into the mattress, toes curling against the sheets, and Anthony was moaning again and choking, now and then, because Loki might be a little too rough. But he couldn't get his hips to stop grinding up and he couldn't keep his breaths from coming out in ragged gasps or his and he also couldn't not fall over the edge when it suddenly just _happened_ -

Loki believed that he cried out Anthony's name as he came, but he was not entirely sure.

When he came back to himself, he was still panting and his whole body felt blissfully limb and heavy. Anthony was kissing his way up Loki's chest and eventually came to lie on top of the god. Loki tried to concentrate, but everything felt really nice and a little fuzzy, and he did not actually want to concentrate.

He still did, in the end, because Anthony's voice was very raspy when he said, “So, that was really great. You taste awesome like this, by the way.”

Loki blinked, and somehow his hand found its way to Anthony's throat, stroking gently over the soft skin. So fragile. Norns, he had to keep in mind that his lover was still human.

“Was that too rough?”, he asked, concerned, but Anthony just laughed and kissed him, briefly.

“Don't worry”, he said then, flashing Loki a grin. “I've nothing against a bit of manhandling.”

Loki smiled and wrapped his arms around the smaller man, turning them both onto their sides. He curled himself around Anthony, entwined their limbs, and breathed in as much of their joined scents as he could. Anthony chuckled, but he also buried his nose in Loki's hair, so he was probably liking this just as much as Loki did.

Too late, Loki noticed that Anthony was still hard; Loki could feel it against his stomach. But Anthony didn't seem to intend to do anything about it, which… would not do. Loki had been told that he was selfish for all his life, but he could at least try to be considerate, regarding this.

So he shifted them again, this time pushing Anthony onto his back and then straddling his legs. Anthony looked up at him, his brows raised.

“What're you doing?”

Loki gave him a dry look. “Take a guess.”

“Uh.”

Loki rolled his eyes and leaned down to kiss Anthony, then murmured his next words against his lover's lips. “You were wonderful, and I would like to respond in kind.”

“Oh”, Anthony made. “That's - you don't have to, Lokes. Like I said, I - _ah_ , christ, _okay_.”

Loki had wrapped his fingers around Anthony’s cock, cutting his human short. It felt hot and heavy and wonderful in Loki's hand, and, judging by the way his hips twitched into the touch, Anthony was not actually opposed to this.

“I'm sure you could manage one more time”, Loki said lowly and leaned down, supporting himself with his one hand while the other started stroking. He feared it might be a little too dry, so he used a tiny bit of magic to coat his fingers in oil. “For me, yes?”

“Yes”, Anthony breathed, then, “God, I'll be fucking sore tomorrow.”

Loki hummed in agreement. “Yes, and you will like it, won't you?”

“I'll love it”, Anthony gasped, his hands coming up to Loki's shoulders. “I love this, I love - _you_ , oh, fuck.”

Loki chuckled and kissed him, keeping the strokes of his hand slow and steady while claiming Anthony's mouth. It didn't take long until Anthony was not actually able to kiss anymore and was just panting into Loki's mouth instead. Loki didn't mind, he just let his mouth wander to Anthony's neck and bit down there a few times, wanting to leave just as many marks on Anthony as Anthony had left on him.

Soon enough Anthony was bucking into Loki's hand, desperate, almost _painful_ sounds falling from his lips. And maybe he was at the edge of pain, maybe this was too much for him, but the one time Loki considered stopping and taking his hand away, Anthony told him to “don't fucking stop”, and he did so with a growl that Loki couldn't possibly resist.

When Anthony eventually came, it was with a low, throaty groan and his hands clinging to Loki like he was the only thing that kept him from drowning. So Loki held him and kissed his temple and his cheek and his jaw, somehow managing to lie down and pull Anthony onto his chest.

Anthony mumbled something, but Loki didn't understand, so he brushed Anthony's sweaty hair out of his face and asked, “What was that?”

Anthony took a breath. “I said”, he said then, “‘Yeah, you'll definitely be the death of me.’”

Loki smiled and rolled them around - he preferred to be able to tuck himself against Anthony's side and bury his face in the crook of his neck, and that worked better when Anthony was not the one lying on top. The human didn't seem to mind, he just wrapped his arms around Loki and held him close.

“I love you, too”, Loki whispered, and Anthony pressed a firm kiss to his temple in response.

A few seconds passed, then Anthony said, his voice tired, “We really should sleep now.”

“You say that just because -”

“Yeah, because I'm a weak human and lacking stamina”, Anthony interrupted. He pinched Loki's side. “Shut up. You're tired, too.”

Loki hid his smile against Anthony's skin. He _was_ tired. Anthony muttered an order to JARVIS, telling him to wake them when Thor wanted to speak to them, but not before they had gotten at least two hours of sleep. A few seconds later, Anthony was already asleep.

Loki lay awake a bit longer and listened to Anthony's heartbeat. It was a nice sound, and eventually lulled him to sleep.

For the first time in his life, Loki wanted to be exactly where he was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, also I didn't mean for them to do the love confessions thing in this chapter? But then Tony just did it somehow? I had a very romantic scene planned later on! Sigh.


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I know this chapter is awfully short, sorry about that! But I had to make the cut here, otherwise it would have gotten far too long. Hope you enjoy this one, anyway!

Loki was standing in front of the bathroom mirror, on his toes so he could see as much of himself as possible. He had pulled his hair back into a bun - which,  _ hot _ \- to have a better view of his neck, over which he was just trailing his finger.

"I, uh. Might have gone a little overboard?"

Loki yanked his eyes away from the mirror to look at Tony, who was standing in front of the shower and shuffling his feet under Loki's dry gaze.

"You might have, yes,”, the Omega said and turned back to his reflection. "But you don't look much different, if you haven't noticed."

Of course Tony had noticed. It was impossible to  _ not _ notice it when you were covered with bite marks from head to toe. Well, okay, not  _ actually _ from head to toe - they were a few along Tony's neck and shoulder, one on his side, and two on his inner thigh. They all hurt a little, but it was a nice kind of pain, and they would heal quickly enough. Except for those on his shoulder, probably; mating bites there usually scarred, for reasons Tony didn't fully comprehend. Maybe he should ask Bruce later, even though he probably wouldn't get another explanation than that it was some kind of weird biological mating thing. 

Anyway.

Tony was going to have a mating mark - maybe even several of them - and he was not freaking out about it. And that wasn't even a lie, he was  _ actually _ not freaking out about it. He liked it. He'd never been bitten before - had never let anyone bite him - and he had never bitten anybody in return, either. Pepper, as a very balanced Beta, hadn't been interested in this sort of thing, and Tony had made peace with the thought that he would never get a mate, at least not in the sense of the word that involved mating bites and scent marking and stuff.

And, whoops. Here he was, just having stepped out of a very nice shower with his very nice - understatement - Omega, who was also covered in bite marks from head to toe.

And for Loki, the words "from head to toe" were a little more accurate. Tony hadn't really counted how often he had bitten his lover, but by the looks of it, he'd done it a lot. The most were on Loki's neck and shoulders, too, but they even trailed down his arms and chest, and his thighs were also covered with them. That sounded worse than it really was, though, because most of the marks were already fading. Tony had just managed to break the skin of Loki's shoulder, and that only twice.

It was a good look on Loki. Seeing those marks on his lover filled Tony with that weird, guttural kind of satisfaction that wanted to make himself known in a low growl. Tony did his best to stifle that, but it was still a nice feeling, especially that warmth in his chest that was probably just… happiness.

But, still. Tony wasn't entirely sure what Loki thought about this, and maybe he really should have asked before  _ giving _ Loki those marks.

"I'm sorry,” he said. "I didn't mean to -"

"Don't,” Loki cut him off. He rocked back on his heels, apparently done with examining himself in the mirror. "I told you, I like them." He looked at Tony, eyes searching for the marks on  _ Tony's _ body. "Do you… not?"

"What?"

"Like them?"

"Oh." Tony walked over to Loki and wrapped his arms around him, his chin on the god's shoulder. "Of course I like them."

And Loki smiled. He had changed to his usual form before going to the bathroom - before looking into the mirror - and so his eyes were green and his skin white again. Tony found that he almost missed the azure blue and the ruby eyes. Loki looked creepy that way and otherworldly and absolutely stunning, and Tony - yeah, he loved him. Couldn’t stop looking at him, no matter what he looked like. But the blue sure was… something.

“You’re staring,” Loki informed him helpfully. 

“Yes, I’m aware.” Tony kissed Loki’s jaw, smiling when he immediately tilted his head to give Tony better access. “You ready to go and speak to Thor?”

“Yes”, Loki said, his tone too even.

Tony didn’t call him out on it. He knew that Loki was not  _ actually _ ready to talk to Thor, but it wasn’t like he had a real choice, and Loki knew that, too. JARVIS had told them just half a hour ago that Thor had asked to speak to them, and they had quickly decided that they would let him come to them instead of the other way around. Bruce was already waiting for them in the penthouse, so that was where they went. Tony ignored that he was sore and wanted to sleep, but he did wonder if they should have waited with the sex until after… whatever would happen now. But then, it was good that they were properly together now, because that could make sorting things out with Thor a little easier.

Tony took Loki's hand when they stepped into the elevator. Loki gave him an odd look, but he didn't pull his hand away - actually, he even leaned against Tony a little. Tony decided that touching was good; it calmed him down.

They found Bruce in the kitchen. He gave them one glance, pushed up his glasses and turned back to making tea. Which didn't hide his amused smile.

"Congratulations,”  he said. "About time."

“Yes”, Loki replied, whatever that exactly meant, and went to riffle to the vast amount of tea bags they had by now to find his favorite. 

“There’s coffee for you,” Bruce told Tony, still smirking to himself. He’d probably noticed the bite marks; neither Tony nor Loki had bothered wearing high-collared shirts. 

“Thanks, big guy.” Tony, who had already spotted and taken the full coffee pot, proceeded to pour it into a mug. Bruce lightly patted his shoulder before he moved to bring his own cup to the kitchen table.

Sadly, Loki chose just that moment to drop the cup he’d just taken out of the cabinet, and the sound of it shattering made Tony spill his coffee. He whined and looked up to ask what the fuck had gotten into Loki - Tony had never seen him drop anything before - but then he saw  _ how _ Loki looked at them. Or at Bruce, rather, because that was who he was glaring at. It made Tony’s hair stand on end, that glare, and he needed only a second to understood what was going on.

“Loki, hey -” he began, already positioning himself in front of Bruce, but Loki didn’t let him finish.

“Don’t do that again,” Loki said through clenched teeth. The words were obviously directed at Tony, even though Loki wasn’t looking at him directly. 

“I’m sorry,” Bruce spoke up from behind Tony. “I should -”

“You didn’t do anything,” Tony cut him off. “Loki, calm the fuck down. It was just -”

Loki interrupted him with a snarl. “I don’t want him to touch you!”

“He’s my friend,” Tony snapped back, “and a member of my goddamn pack, so if he wants to touch me, he’s allowed to, okay?”

“Tony -” Bruce tried, but Tony simply spoke over him.

“Also, I thought we agreed on that no ownership thing, huh? Or does that only apply when it suits you?”

Loki didn’t answer. He was staring at Tony, now, his shoulders tense and lips pressed together. And if that wasn’t enough, his smell made it obvious that he felt  _ threatened _ . Tony didn’t even know why this made him so angry, but he probably would have snarled at Loki some more if JARVIS hadn’t intervened.

“ _ Sirs, Thor is on his way to the penthouse. _ ”

Now, that was just awesome.

“Tony,” Bruce chimed in again, somehow managing to sound careful and urgent at the same time. “He can’t help it, you know. It’s normal. You’re in the early stages of a bond, and I - I wouldn’t have wanted anyone to touch Betty, either. Especially not another Omega.”

Tony had turned to look at Bruce, frowning. Bruce gave him a pointed look before he set his cup - he had spilled some tea over his hand, too, apparently - on the counter and turned to Loki.

“I’m sorry,”, he said. “Won’t happen again, I promise. At least not until you two are - settled in.”

Loki had stopped looking at either of them by now, but he gave a curt nod that probably meant that Bruce’s apology was accepted. 

Bruce cleared his throat. “Okay, then I’ll just go and, ah… entertain Thor for a few minutes. So you can…”

“Yeah,” Tony said. “Thanks.”

Two seconds later Bruce had left them alone, and the silence was already starting to get awkward. Tony shuffled on his feet, trying to keep his hands from fidgeting; he knew that he had fucked up. Or maybe they both had fucked up a little, or maybe things like this were  _ normal _ \- Tony didn't know; he'd never been  _ in the early stages of a bond _ before.

He had to ask Bruce about that. Later. He had to concentrate on Loki first. Loki, who was, as Tony noticed now, getting blue again.

It started in his fingertips, and from there it spread up his arms and neck, until his face and eyes changed color. Tony could imagine the blue dripping down Loki's chest, and for a second he wanted to take off Loki's shirt so he could watch.

But maybe this wasn't the best moment for that, given that they were having some sort of fight right now.

“I hate this,” Loki said in that tone of voice he hadn’t used in quite a while - well, except for their short discussion about the word  _ pups.  _ But even then Loki hadn’t quite sounded like he did now and  _ this _ , this was the tone reserved for,  _ If this is a side effect of being an Omega, I’d like to claim refund _ . It was disturbingly similar to the tone Loki used for,  _ I feel like killing somebody, so stay out of my way.  _

“I know,” Tony said.

“You said Bruce would be  _ okay. _ You didn’t tell me I would - that it would be like this.”

“I know,” Tony repeated, carefully taking a step toward Loki. “And it’ll  _ be _ okay, I’m sure, it’s just like this in the beginning. Look, I - I’m sorry I -”

“No, you were  _ right _ .”

Tony stared at his lover for a moment. He wasn’t entirely sure if he had ever heard Loki say those words before. “Oh.”

“I don’t have any right to keep you from touching him, or - ” Loki made a vapid gesture, not looking at Tony, “or the other way around. I didn’t mean to. But it - he  _ is _ …”

Tony didn’t know what Bruce was, or what Loki thought he was, but he knew for sure what Bruce  _ wasn _ ’t. “You know that Bruce and I aren’t, uh, interested in each other, right? He’s not really my type, and Bruce always throws me out of his lab after a few hours because I’m a bit too  _ much _ for him, so there’s nothing whatsoever going on between us. Except for the friends-and-also-packmates thing. Also he’s sort of hung up on his green problem and -”

Loki wanted him to shut up, apparently, because suddenly he was in Tony’s space and they were kissing, and it was a success because Tony entirely forgot what he had wanted to say. Talking and kissing Loki at the same time wasn’t possible, anyway, and if he had chose between the two, the winner was obvious. He took hold of Loki’s sides, pulling him closer, and the kiss lost something of its initial rush, grew softer and slower. Loki broke it after some time but stayed close, touching his nose to Tony’s, hands cupping the inventor’s jaw. Tony could smell how uncomfortable this whole thing made Loki, but the look in his red eyes was almost worse - confused, frustrated, helpless. He closed them again, too quickly, and Tony couldn’t do anything but pull him into a hug. Loki melted into it at once, bending down enough to rest his head on Tony’s shoulder, nose buried against his neck. His hands were clinging to Tony’s shirt. He smelled like he was about to have a minor breakdown.

“Loki,” Tony murmured, stroking Loki’s back. “Hey. Sweetheart, it’s  _ okay _ .”

“I overreacted”, came Loki’s muffled reply.

“Still, it’s fine. We’re both new at this, but we’ll figure it out. I can avoid touching Bruce for a while, until -”

“ _ No _ ,” Loki cut him off. “You shouldn’t have to.”

“Just for a  _ while _ , Loki. Until we’re settled in, like Bruce said.” Tony pulled away, making Loki look at him again. “It’ll be totally fine in a few days, I’m sure. Also, just for the record, I wouldn’t be fine with another Alpha touching you right now, either.” He brushed Loki’s hair out of his face, trying to soothe him. “Okay? I know it’s weird for you, feeling like this, and it’s weird for me  _ too _ , but it’s  _ normal _ .”

Loki swallowed, still frowning. His hands wandered from Tony’s chest up to his neck, thumb stroking over the bite mark that peeked out from beneath the collar of Tony’s shirt. “I didn’t think this would involve  _ this _ level of… possessiveness,” he muttered. “I have no right to control you in any way, I know, and I do not  _ want _ to, but I… I do want you to be mine. Not his. Not anyone else’s. I have to know that you won’t - choose somebody else.”

Tony didn’t even have to  _ think _ about that. “I won’t,” he said, as firmly as he managed. “I chose you, I  _ choose _ you, and you won’t lose me. I  _ am _ yours.”

Loki closed his eyes and kissed him again, a little softer this time. Noses bumping into each other, cool fingertips stroking over Tony’s beard; Loki smiled into the kiss. “And I yours,” he said, his voice quiet when they broke apart.

Tony nodded and simply drew him close again. Not kissing him when they were this close would be a sacrilege, and so they kissed. They kissed until Loki’s backside hit the kitchen counter, Tony crowding him against it, Loki’s fingers finding their way to the hem of Tony’s shirt and beneath it, just because he wanted to touch skin. The difference in temperature made Tony shiver and press closer, desperate for more. He was still sore from their earlier rounds, but it wasn’t like that  _ mattered. _ What mattered was that they were together, exactly like this, and that Loki smelled like he was much more comfortable now - he smiled like  _ happiness _ \- and that they were each other’s. Everything else was trivial.

Or at least it was for a while, because after who knew how many minutes Loki pushed at Tony’s chest, laughing quietly at the reluctant sounds Tony made. “Thor,” Loki whispered, making Tony scowl. “We still have to deal with Thor.”

Oh. Right, yes. Fuck. It was almost unsettling, how easy Loki could make Tony forget about the rest of the world, and that it was still turning.

“Yeah,” Tony said, breathless, and pulled away. “Sure. Thor.”

It seemed that Loki was being distracted by his hands; maybe he only now actually realized that he’d changed color again. He sighed. “Damn.”

Tony looked at his lover’s blue skin, into his red eyes, and shrugged. He closed the first few buttons of Loki’s lovely shirt, wondering when exactly he had opened them. "Just let him see.”

Loki’s eyes snapped back to him. “Thor?”

“Yes. He saw it already, anyway, in England. And, you know - I feel like talking to him won't be that relaxing, so you'll probably turn blue at some point, anyway."

Loki scowled at that and looked away, frustrated. His voice was cool when he said, "You are aware that the Jotnar are basically his arch enemies, yes? I have no idea how he will react upon seeing one -"

"Seeing  _ you _ ," Tony corrected. "Look, I - I know you don't like it when people call you brothers, but -"

"We aren't."

" _ But _ you are, at least in his mind. He still wants it to be like that. And he worries about you -"

"That doesn't give him the right to -"

"I know," Tony interrupted. "I  _ know _ . It doesn't give him any rights, and it isn't an excuse for the times he treated you badly. The only thing that I'm saying is that he's worried and won't leave us completely alone until he  _ stops _ being worried." He rubbed Loki's upper arms, trying to soothe him. "And we sort of need him."

"I'm aware," was all Loki said. Just a second later the blue faded from his skin.

Tony suppressed a sigh and smiled instead. This wasn't his decision, anyway; it was Loki's. "You don't really think he'll attack you, do you?'

Loki's expression was blank, which probably meant that he was worried. "Well, if he does -"

"Then he'll hardly win against the three of us," Tony finished the sentence before Loki could, his tone firm.

Oddly enough, Loki smiled. "Yes," he said. "That's true, I suppose."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, how is this already 80k words long, oh my god


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let's just ignore the fact that this took me ages, okay? Okay.
> 
> Oh, also - this story now has 999 subscriptions. That number is honestly too big for me to comprehend, but please know that I love every single one of you. ❤

 

Even though Loki was back in his Aesir skin, he was prepared for almost everything when he and Anthony entered the living room, where Bruce and Thor were already waiting for them. Loki expected Thor stare in shock, in disgust; he expected him to wrap his fingers around Mjölnir's handle, maybe just to prepare, maybe to attack. He had seen Loki in his Jotun skin for the first time two days ago, after all, and Loki knew that Thor wouldn’t have forgotten that sight. He was prepared to defend himself - himself and the two mortals who were becoming, undoubtedly, his  _ family. _ That word rang true, no matter how odd the whole situation was.

What Loki had  _ not _ expected was this wide-eyed stare that way neither shock nor disgust, but… something else. Loki wasn't sure  _ what _ it was, and he didn't have enough time to figure it out, because suddenly Thor had jumped up from the sofa and made his way over to Loki, and Loki had to take a quick step back to avoid being hugged. He snarled at the Aesir out of instinct - or maybe just because it was a human habit that had rubbed off on him; people on TV were snarling at each other all the time - and Thor stopped dead in his tracks, eyes going even wider.

“Okaaay,” Anthony said, drawing the two syllables out to something much longer. “Easy, Lo, okay? And, uh, Thor - no touching, alright? We’re a bit sensitive about that at the moment.”

Thor looked from Loki to Anthony and back, confused, but after a moment he nodded and took a few careful steps back. “I’m sorry,” he said. 

Anthony looked at Loki, and Loki swallowed and forced the tension out of his shoulders. He didn’t stop glaring at his not-brother, though. “Just don’t try it again,” he said, the edge of a threat coloring his voice.

“I won’t,” Thor said, sounding earnest.

Loki scoffed and took Anthony’s hand, dragging him past Thor to the sofa. Bruce was already sitting there, so naturally Loki and Anthony joined him. Thor hesitated, but after a moment he took seat in a chair across of them. His eyes were fixed on Loki, a crease between them, hands resting in his lap. It didn’t look like he was about to attack.

"Your wounds?" He asked after a moment, his tone careful.

"Healed," Loki said. It had only been some minor knife wounds, they hadn't actually  _ bothered _ him.

Thor nodded. His eyes briefly flickered to Anthony and Bruce before settling on Loki again. "Tony… Tony said you wished to speak with me?"

"Otherwise you wouldn't be here now."

Thor's mouth twitched. "Loki, I have been trying to talk to you for  _ months. _ "

"I'm well aware."

"Why didn't you -"

"I did not  _ want _ to," Loki cut him off. "And I still don't. If I had a choice, Thor, you would be rid of me for good, believe me."

Thor's jaw was clenched, eyes fixed on Loki. "I don't want to be rid of you, Loki. I am - I am  _ happy _ you are well, truly. I was worried."

"Oh, were you," Loki drawled. "Why, how very kind of you to think of me. Thank you,  _ brother. _ "

"Don't imply that I  _ didn't _ think of you," Thor said, a bit sharper now. "I  _ was _ worried, I still am. And I tried to -"

"Yes, you tried. You tried as soon as the Allfather decided that I wasn't to be executed but  _ banished _ , you tried as soon as you knew that it wouldn't be seen as high treason by anyone." Loki nodded, an impressed look on his face. “You were truly heroic, Thor, as always.”

Thor swallowed visibly, but he didn’t look away. “I’m not surprised you think that way,” he said after a moment. “But I was not even in Midgard until Father decided to banish you, Loki. I was in Asgard, convincing him  _ not _ to execute you, along with Mother.”

“That’s true,” Anthony chimed in. Loki gave him a scolding look, but the human just raised his brows. “What? It is. Bruce and I spoke to him about, you know, our theories,” he ignored Loki’s eye-roll, “and Thor went and needed those three weeks you spent in the cell to convince Odin not to cut your pretty head off. Without him -”

“Enough,” Loki snapped. “That doesn’t change anything.” He looked back at Thor. “And it doesn’t matter. I do not want reconciliation, Thor. I don’t need it.”

“I do,” Thor said firmly, blue eyes unwavering. “Please. Loki, I  _ know _ I should have listened to you sooner, that if you had only been sure you could trust me, it would have all been -”

“What?” Loki stood up, only to be able to look down at Thor. Which he only could for a moment, because then Thor already got on his feet as well. “It would have been  _ what _ ? Fine? Easy? I would have poured out my heart to you and followed you home, Odin would have  _ forgiven _ me? Really, haven’t you learned anything?”

“You can still come home, Loki,” Thor said, sounding so earnest that Loki wanted to toss him out of the window. “Our father will -”

“He is  _ not _ ,” Loki hissed, “my father. And I will not come home. There  _ is _ no home I could return to.”

“Don’t say that, Loki, please. Asgard will always be -”

“It never was! You  _ saw _ me, Thor. How could I ever be welcome? How could I ever  _ want _ to return to a place where everyone would scorn and hate and fear me just for  _ existing _ ?”

“The people don’t know,” Thor said quietly. “Father made sure that -”

“Oh, of course!” Loki managed a brittle smile that quickly turned into a sneer. “Of course. It was all such a tragedy, yes? The  _ beloved _ second prince, dying in - an accident, wasn’t it? I  _ fell _ , did I not? And you tried your very best to save me, of course you did, but -”

“Enough!” Thor yelled, taking a step toward Loki. “That’s  _ enough _ . Father hardly had a choice. Have you forgotten what you  _ did _ , Loki?”

“Have you?” Loki countered. “I almost believe you have. You wouldn’t want me to come  _ home _ if you remembered - you would want to have my  _ head _ -”

Thor growled and grasped the front of Loki’s shirt, pulling him close enough that they were almost nose to nose. Behind Loki, Anthony let out a snarl of his own, but immediately Bruce’s calming voice jumped in, holding him back. 

“I want you to be  _ safe _ , you fool, “ Thor said. “None of us is innocent, Loki. We both made mistakes - Father did, too, and Mother, I know, I  _ know. _ You have every right to be angry, and I have not forgiven you for what you did, either. But I  _ want  _ to, Loki, I would like to try.”

He let go of Loki’s shirt and put his hand on the side of Loki’s neck instead, squeezing gently in that brotherly way of his, just like he’d always done. Loki had long stopped breathing. He knew how strong Thor was, knew that he would just need to tighten his grip a little and then snap his wrist, and -

“Let go of me,” Loki got out. “Let  _ go _ , I -”

Thor immediately did, but a second later Loki noticed that it wasn’t because of his words, but because of the skin beneath Thor’s fingers - it was changing color, Loki could feel it; the blue wandering up his neck like droplets of ice water. Thor stared at it, frozen in place, and what could Loki do but scoff?

“Ah, yes. This is where it ends, isn’t?” He pushed at Thor’s chest; Thor was surprised enough to topple a few steps backwards. “All this  _ earnesty _ , this desire for conciliation - just  _ look _ at me, Thor, and tell me again that Asgard would welcome me.”

Thor did look at him - still at his neck, to be precise, at his throat. And then he suddenly brushed past Loki, anger coming off him in waves, and the split of a second later Loki heard a surprised yelp that made his hairs stand on end. When he turned around Thor had already grabbed Anthony by the throat and hauled him to the side, taking away his balance by letting the back of his knees meet the sofa table. 

“ _ You! _ I tell you to keep him safe, and what do you do?! You -”

Thor stopped, but only because there was suddenly a dagger at his throat, its blade already threatening to cut his skin. 

“If I were you,  _ brother _ , “ Loki said lowly, “I would let go of him right. Now. Don’t believe I will hesitate to slit your throat.”

“Loki, he -”

“Thor,” another voice chimed in - Bruce’s, quiet and tense. “Really, let go. Otherwise we’re going to have a whole other problem very soon.”

“I had my spine broken by my green friend once, you know,” Loki said, casual. “I do not recommend it.”

Thor let go, and Anthony dropped down and landed on the sofa table, struggling for air. “‘Kay,” he rasped. “Thanks, that was - kinky. An experience. Can we not do it again?”

Loki’s dagger disappeared and he sat down next to Anthony, worried. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” Anthony said between coughs. He didn’t look like he was fine; his throat was already bruising. 

Loki reached out and touched his fingers to his lover’s neck, letting a bit of healing magic seep into it. Anthony took a deep breath, air finding its way into his lungs easier now. He gave Loki a shaky smile. “Thanks.”  Then he looked up at Thor. “Care to tell me what that was about?”

Thor was still glaring at them, but his brows were pinched in confused. “The bruises,” he said.

Loki blinked and looked down at himself, then closed his eyes and prayed to the Norns to give him strength. This was  _ exactly _ the reason why he had covered the marks on his throat with a glamour earlier, too. Of course there were visible again, now that the glamour had failed. 

“They are not bruises,” he said with a sigh. “Not the way you think.”

Next to him, Anthony let out a sound that had surprising similarities to a squeak. “What the  _ fuck _ , Thor? Do you really think I -”

“They look like bruises,” Thor said, ignoring Anthony altogether.

“You are making a fool of yourself,” Loki informed the other god. “Use that little brain of yours, that’s what you have it for.”

Thor’s frown deepened, but after a few seconds he blinked slowly, understanding dawning on him. “Oh,” he said.

“Yes,” Loki said, voice dripping with sarcasm. “ _ Oh. _ ”

Thor chewed on his lip for a moment - old habit, he’d already done that when they had been children -, then turned back to Anthony. “I’m sorry, Tony. I didn’t think.”

“Obviously,” Anthony said through clenched teeth. He was rubbing his neck, and Loki could smell how angry he was.

Bruce, meanwhile, had sat down again. “Could we do this without manhandling from now on?” He sounded tired. “I would appreciate it.”

“Of course,” Thor said, still eyeing Loki and Anthony. “My apologies.” He hesitated, then added, “So. You two are -”

“Yes,” Loki said.

“Oh.”

Loki rolled his eyes.

“Somehow I thought that was obvious,” Tony said, frowning. “Isn’t it obvious?”

“Just not for him, I think,” Bruce replied. “I’m sure everyone else can smell it ten miles against the wind.”

Thor was still looking at Loki, his eyes wide and thoughtful. Loki held his gaze, quietly challenging him to say something. He was all too aware that he wasn’t wearing his Aesir disguise anymore and he looked, almost desperately, for a sign of disgust in Thor’s face, but there was nothing. He seemed just a little confused.

“That is why you don’t want to come home, then,” Thor said eventually, his voice quiet. “You really - you really are a pack.”

Loki eyed him warily. “Do you even know what a pack is?”

Thor nodded and slowly sat down next to Bruce on the sofa, still facing Loki. “I asked Jane,” he said. “She explained everything to me. It’s - complicated, isn’t it?”

Loki stayed silent, so Anthony said, “A bit, yeah.”

“You really wish to say?” Thor asked. 

Loki was getting tired of it. “I told you. Asgard is no home I could return to. Besides - I want to stay  _ here _ , yes.”

“Loki,” Thor said, then sighed. “Mother - she misses you. And I do, too.”

Loki looked at him, his lips pressed together. “How is she?”

Thor smiled, though only hesitantly. “Fine. She is angry at Father, though.” He lowered his voice a little. “She hasn’t slept in his room in months, I think.”

Loki snorted. That sounded like Frigga, yes. His chest felt a little tight all of a sudden. Norns, he  _ missed _ her, even though he didn’t want to.

“Can we try this again?” Thor asked after a long moment.

“Just don’t touch him again,” Anthony said, still tense.

Loki gave him a look, then turned back to Thor. “Don’t touch  _ him _ again.”

“Don’t touch anyone again,” Bruce murmured.

“Okay,” Thor agreed tentatively. “Tell me what you need, then.”

Loki couldn’t reply for a long moment, surprised.

“Tony said you needed my help,” Thor said, grinning crookedly. “I’m here, and willing to listen.”

It stayed quiet for a long moment. Bruce and Anthony were both looking at Loki, waiting for him to speak. But, suddenly, Loki didn’t really know what to say. He was still waiting for  _ something _ , somehow, was still prepared to dodge an attack that didn’t seem to come. Thor’s earlier outbursts were  _ nothing _ compared to what Loki had been expecting. This was only the second time Thor saw him in his Jotun skin, and he hadn’t even  _ mentioned _ it. What was that supposed to mean?

“Hey,” Anthony said, pulling Loki out of his thoughts. His tone was soft. “You okay?”

Loki gave him a brief look and a nod, then concentrated on Thor again. “I need to get rid of the shackle. I’m willing to fight on the side of the Avengers, as long as that does not endanger my pack, and I will accept my banishment from Asgard, too. Odin will never have to see me again.”

“A clean cut, then,” Thor said quietly.

“Yes.”

Thor nodded slowly, studying Loki’s face. “If that is what you wish -”

“It is.”

The older god sighed. “I cannot promise that Father will agree, but I’ll try my best to persuade him. I’m sure Mother will help me.” He paused, frowning, then added, “You will have to come to Asgard, at least for a few days. To remove the shackle, for a start, and -”

“To talk to Odin,” Loki finished curtly. “Yes, I know.”

Thor was chewing on his lip again, thinking. “How long can you keep on the glamour?”

Loki stared at him. 

“Thirty minutes, tops,” Anthony jumped in. “Shorter when things get difficult. Like when someone manhandles him, for example.”

“That should be long enough.” Thor glanced at Anthony, then back at Loki. “Loki, I… I’m sure you know that  _ this _ could become, er. Difficult. Do not think I’m not happy for you, but -”

“I know,” Loki interrupted sharply. “I’m not stupid, Thor. I’ve given it thought. How long do you think you will need?”

Thor took a breath. “I’m not sure. A few weeks? I have to speak to Mother first.”

“Can we agree on a month?”

Thor blinked. “Exactly a month, you mean?”

“Yes.”

For a moment, Thor looked like he wanted to ask further questions, but then he seemed to decide against it. In the end he just nodded and stood up. “I will go now, then.” He hesitated, then smiled. “It was good to see you, Loki.”

Loki ignored him.

“I’ll bring you,” Bruce offered, standing up as well. “Someone has to talk to Fury anyway, I’ll do that.” He glanced at Anthony, who nodded.

Two minutes later, Loki and Anthony were alone.

“Well,” Anthony said. “That went, uh, better than expected? I mean, nobody killed anybody. “

“Yes,” Loki agreed, even though he hadn’t really listened.. 

“What did he mean with that last bit, though? The Jotun thing?”

“No.” Loki swallowed, then looked at Anthony. “I do not want to talk about it now.”

“Okay,” Anthony said slowly. “If you - I mean, do you want to be alone?”

Loki shook his head. It was quiet for a moment, then he said, “Can we go back to bed?”

They could, and they did. Bruce used the comms of the tower to tell them. that he’d spoken to Fury and convinced him not to interfere, given that  _ Asgard _ was interfering again now. He and Anthony talked for a while, Anthony making sure that Bruce was alright, and then Anthony told JARVIS to make sure they were left alone.

Loki hadn’t pulled his glamour back on. He was exhausted. He’d barely slept the last nights, after all, and his magic was drained. He also didn’t want to think about anything that had happened, really, starting with the Alpha who had  _ harassed _ him in England and ending with Thor. 

Thankfully, Anthony didn’t pry - actually, he didn’t say a word after he’d finished talking to Bruce. He didn’t resist when Loki pulled at his shirt to get it off. He’d already gotten rid of his own and could now sprawl out on Anthony, face buried in the crook of the human’s neck, relishing the smell and the feeling of skin against skin. Anthony just grunted softly and shifted them both until he was in a comfortable position, then wrapped his arms around Loki and closed his eyes. Loki followed suit, but he didn't fall asleep. He knew that he wouldn't.

After who knew how many minutes had passed, he let out a frustrated growl and rolled off his lover, onto his back. 

"Can't sleep?" Anthony's voice asked, sounding very soft. 

Loki turned his head and found Anthony looking at him out of a bit bleary, but attentive eyes, a hesitant smile on his lips. Loki returned it only and closed his eyes, hoping to escape any questions Anthony might want to ask.

"Hey." There were fingers on his chest, tapping as if knocking on a door. "You okay in there?"

Loki peered down at his chest. "Why wouldn't I be?'

"I've just no idea what's going on in your head."

Loki didn't look at his lover, instead he stared up at the ceiling. He didn't know what to say - didn't  _ want _ to say anything. The truth was that he wasn't entirely, sure himself, he hadn't yet figured out how he felt about… this. Everything. He also didn't know if he wanted to.

"I think it went well," Anthony said quietly. "You thought he'd attack you."

"He did."

"But not because of your smurfiness."

Now Loki  _ did _ look at his lover, narrowing his eyes. " _ Smurfiness _ ?"

"I'm not sure if you actually want to know what a smurf is right now," Anthony said. "And I don't want you to kick me out of bed."

Loki huffed. "That would be childish."

"Yeah, but there was one memorable encounter that involved a certain window. I'm sure your inhibition level for throwing me out of bed is kind of low."

Loki looked back at the ceiling, grinding his teeth.

"Okay, not in the mood for jokes," Anthony said. "Got it."

Loki turned onto his side, away from Anthony, and closed his eyes. He was so  _ tired _ , still. He hadn't had any trouble falling asleep earlier, he would manage now, too. In time. And then he just had to wait a whole month until… until everything would get even worse. 

"Don't talk to me, then," Anthony said lightly. "That's fine. I have a better idea. C'mon, get out of bed."

Loki didn't move.

Ten seconds later, he was kicked out of bed. Which was definitely childish, but, as he had to admit, effective.

 

xxx

 

"I have never enjoyed boxing," Loki said, a deep and discontent crease between his eyes.

"This isn't about enjoyment," Anthony informed him. "It's about punching something until you're not this keyed up anymore."

Loki glared at him, that back at the punching bag in front of him. Of  _ course _ it was for punching something. That was why it was called a  _ punching _ bag. This was ridiculous. Loki didn't need to punch anything, he just - he was fine. Would be, anyway. 

"Okay, look," Anthony said, somehow still patient. "No idea if this will really help. But you smell like you're about to go berserk any second, and it's making me nervous. You don't want to talk about it, fine. You want to smash something, fine. I'd rather it's this bag than anything else. Okay? I'd suggest we spar, but you can't seriously punch me without breaking my bones."

Loki didn't look at him, his jaw clenched. "I wouldn't hurt you," he said.

"I know." Anthony sounded sure. "Do you want me to get Bruce? The Hulk could -"

"No," Loki snapped. "I would prefer not to get tossed around like that again, thank you."

"Okay," Anthony said simply. He didn't add anything else, just studied Loki's face and waited.

Loki took a breath. He knew that Anthony wasn’t  _ wrong _ . And he could also smell how tense the human was, and that it was just an echo of Loki’s own agitation. It made them both uncomfortable.  Loki looked down at his hands, at the blue skin and black nails. His magic was restless; it sat in its place beneath his ribs and made him feel slightly nauseous. This half-control he had over it was annoying; he was too aware of the fact that he couldn’t use it properly.

Maybe taking it out on an inanimate object wasn’t the worst thing he could do.

 “Step back,” he told Anthony, who obliged at once.

Loki’s first punch nearly took the bag out of its hinges. He glanced up at its fastening and strengthened it with a tiny thread of magic, then made the bag a little heavier, hoping that would suffice. He punched the bag again, lips twisting into a scornful smile. Anger made him breathless.

“This is ridiculous,” he muttered, eyes fixed on the bag.

“No,” Anthony said. “No, you’re doing good. Go on.”

Loki did. He punched the bag once, twice - he stopped counting very soon. Frost spread out from his fingers; Loki clenched his jaw and ignored it. Hel, he didn’t even know  _ why _ he was so angry. It was as Anthony had said, it had went  _ well _ . Exactly as planned. They hadn’t even needed to fight. Of course, Thor was the same self-centered, naive,  _ idiotic _ fool he’d always been, but he’d been sincere in his offer to help, he wanted - He wanted to forgive, he’d said. Wanted to be forgiven, too, wanted -  _ I want you to be  _ safe _ , you fool _ . 

Loki hissed; when had he  _ ever _ needed Thor’s protection? It had always been the other way around! It had always been Thor, running headfirst into every conflict without ever thinking about the consequences, It had always been upon Loki to soothe the tides, to make sure that Thor wouldn’t kill both himself and his friends with his damned arrogance. And every time  _ Loki _ had needed help - every time he’d been mocked or ostracized, Thor had turned the other way. When had he ever truly helped, when had he ever truly  _ cared _ ? Loki had always saved himself before. He didn’t need Thor now, either.

Except that he did.  _ They _ did. Without Thor’s support, Odin would never agree to give Loki free reign over his magic; without Thor, Loki might land in a cell on Asgard for circumventing the shackle like they had. That possibility was still there, and if they failed - if Thor didn’t manage to convince his father, or if Odin simply didn’t  _ want _ to be convinced, Loki might still lose everything.  _ Everything _ . 

And there was nothing he could do.

In one month, he would go back to Asgard. Heimdall would have seen everything, so Odin would know everything - would know what Loki was, what he’d done, what he  _ did _ , would know about his wretched heats and this newfound family of his. And he would mock him for all of it, Loki knew. He  _ knew _ . He would walk over the bridge he’d once _ fallen off _ , and then through the streets of Asgard, where everyone would look at him with that certain sort of wariness, hidden disappointment, forced smiles. They didn't know, after all. They didn’t know what he was, not yet. As far as they knew, he was still their second prince, so they would greet him accordingly and not mean any of it. And then, if his glamour failed - and it would fail, certainly. Then they would want his head, all of them. And he would be alone.  _ Alone. _

“Hey, hey - okay, come here, sweetheart, that’s enough. The ceiling’s crumbling, Lo. Come  _ here. _ ”

There was a hand on his back, another on his arm, pulling him away from the bag with gentle firmness. Loki obeyed, gasping for breath and for control - there was ice beneath his bare feet, spreading out over the floor -, and let himself be pulled against a chest. He buried his face against Anthony’s neck, breathing in his scent - still tense and worried, but a bit more bearably so. Anthony wrapped his arms around him, pressed a kiss to Loki’s temple and then just  _ held _ him, for who knew how long.

Eventually, Anthony convinced Loki to leave the gym. They rode up to Loki’s floor and once more retreated to the backroom, where their mingled scents still hung in the air. Anthony left for a few minutes and then came back with tea. Loki sipped it slowly; it soothed his sore throat a bit. He noticed that his knuckles were bruised, but they would heal quickly enough.

They watched a movie, then, with Loki curled up against Anthony’s side. Loki didn’t concentrate on the events the screen displayed, didn’t care, but the colors and sounds were a good distraction. Anthony was playing with his hair and commented on the movie now and then. Loki listened, feeling tired and limb; maybe he would actually be able to sleep now.

“I do not wish to reconcile with Thor,” he murmured after about half of the movie was over.

Anthony hummed. “You don’t have to.”

Loki huffed a tired laugh. “He will not give up easily.”

“No, I know. Still. You don’t have to.” Anthony sighed. “I mean, I won’t tell you  _ not _ to. You grew up with him, and he’s not actually a bad person, you know. But it’s your decision, in the end.”

“We need him,” Loki said quietly. “Without him -”

“I know.”

Silence, for a while. Loki knew that Anthony was thinking. He could practically smell it - the tension was a bit more prominent in the air, the Alpha’s scent a little sharper.

“Loki,” he said eventually, his voice quiet. “If Odin doesn’t agree, we’ll find another way.”

Loki shifted, putting his hand on Anthony’s chest. His fingertips followed the outline of the device that was visible through the human’s shirt. “If Odin doesn’t agree,” Loki said, remembering his earlier thoughts, “I might not be able to come back.”

“You will come back,” Anthony said, holding him tighter. “If you want to, you’ll come back. I’ll fight Odin myself if I have to.”

“No,” Loki said at once, frowning. “No, you will not.”

“I -”

“ _ No _ ,” Loki insisted, fingers curling into Anthony’s shirt. The thought - no, the knowledge that Anthony  _ would _ fight for him made a pleasant shiver run up his spine, but still. Loki would not,  _ could _ not let that happen. Odin would tear him to pieces. “You have to promise.”

Anthony ground his teeth. “Loki, if they hurt you -”

“I will be fine.”

“You can’t expect me to simply sit there and watch.”

_ You won’t be there _ , Loki thought, but didn’t say. “Promise,” he demanded again, quieter this time, nuzzling Anthony’s neck. “Please.” He knew that he just needed to sound a bit scared, and -

“Don’t manipulate me,” Anthony said, then sighed. “Fine. Fine, I promise. Though I will do  _ something _ when Odin tries to take you away. Don’t know what yet, but I’ll come up with something.”

Loki couldn’t help but smile. He kissed Anthony’s neck. “Take me away from you, you mean.”

“Yes,” Anthony said simply. “Exactly.”

Loki laughed. He had to admit that, whenever Anthony allowed himself to show it, his possessiveness was rather nice. It didn’t feel stifling, it wasn’t like Anthony thought he had the right to control Loki; he just  _ wanted _ him. At his side, and at nobody else’s.

“Yours,” Loki said softly, and smiled when Anthony’s scent changed again - he was pleased, deeply so.

“Yours,” Anthony repeated firmly, kissing Loki’s hair. 

Then he continued making ridiculous comments about the ridiculous movie he’d apparently been following, and Loki listened and closed his eyes. Shortly after, he was fast asleep.

**Author's Note:**

> [My tumblr :)](https://amidnight--dreary.tumblr.com/)


End file.
